Kaleidoscope

A free, unique experience for kids and parents that sparks creativity! I love how the materials used are leftovers from other projects. There's so much to do and the time limit makes it so that the kids never get bored. This is a fantastic activity to do in between two other nearby activities or to finish off a great day at the Crown Center and Union Station. The favorites in our family was the melted crayon craft, making puzzles, and the black light area. All the staff was helpful and passionate about what they do! The two drawbacks were signing up for the event in advance (online only has a few spots available so I had to keep checking for availability) and getting to the building (you have to maneuver through hallways to get here from the Crown Center and it's not always well-labeled... we had to ask once or twice how to get there).

It was okay. I was definitely expecting to see what I had experienced as a child and kept looking around for where we were supposed to go before realizing this was it. The stations seem almost identical. My kids liked coloring and painting. The wax station was a hit too. I reserved our tickets a month ago and was so excited for my children to experience the magic and creative wonder that I did as a child, but, honestly it was just lacking. The vibe is very white and sterile, almost hospital like in appearance. It was okay for the 20ish minutes we were in there. The staff were great though, they were very nice and informative. Overall very meh.

I love that it’s free and gives kids the opportunity to be creative with all sorts of different art materials. I would highly recommend checking it out if you have kids. Be sure to book tickets online though because spots fill up fast. You can’t just show up and get a same day ticket. They have a certain amount of guests per time a lot. It is wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly so when you go in you can just park your stroller near the pictures of clouds and you don’t have to worry about it. They should give you a 2 hour free parking pass. Be sure that you are parking in the right area beforehand though. I parked in the wrong parking garage and had to pay full price.

I wasn’t expecting things to look so dull and sterile. This isn’t what I recall from my childhood. I was really excited to get an opportunity to finally take my 5YO, based on what I remember. There wasn’t much to do besides draw on different cuts of paper with dried out markers, water color that was murky from kids not rinsing their brushes, and melted crayon wax. All the stations looked almost exactly the same, minus one space that had a wheel of fabric. I recall the space with a much more whimsical feel to it, now it’s just white and minimalist with a little bit of color. It makes me think it was designed with Ikea products? It’s very underwhelming. My 5YO struggled to stay focused, as all stations were almost identical. I could tell she wasn’t that thrilled because when she is engaged and excited, I struggle to pull her away, and she sometimes becomes upset (this happens at Science City a lot—she LOVES it. We had time to stop by after thankfully and utilize our membership passes). We walked out with no issue, she could care less. Disappointed to say the least. I know it’s free, but considering the waitlist is weeks long, I was anticipating her to experience the same magic I seem to recall from my childhood, like many fellow KC Native reviewers before me had mentioned. I don’t feel like she experienced that feeling, and felt no inspiration to create—nor did I to come up with creative ideas with her. Very much unlike her, she loves to craft and create! Maybe if a more similar theme to the old one had been designed in the remodel, she’d have enjoyed herself more. This is for kids, after all. I don’t feel like the current look sparks creativity as the old look did. Maybe I’m just being too reminiscent. The staff was very friendly though, so 5/5 for them.