FIFA World Cup 2026™ Kansas City
Family & Community Experiences
YOUR FAMILY PLAYBOOK FOR A
FIFA WORLD CUP 26™ SUMMER IN KC
From downtown attractions to day trips, the Heartland is the perfect family-friendly place to experience.
Get in the game
Before you venture out to watch a match, sign your kids up to play in one! Leawood’s 3v3 Tournament (June 12–14) has divisions for ages 5 through adult. This festival-style fun series of matches offers a chance for winning youth teams to face off against Sporting Kansas City legends. On June 20, Go North KC hosts a free Kick It 3v3 at Happy Rock Park in Gladstone, Missouri, before their watch party.
Before you venture out to watch a match, sign your kids up to play in one! Leawood’s 3v3 Tournament (June 12–14) has divisions for ages 5 through adult. This festival-style fun series of matches offers a chance for winning youth teams to face off against Sporting Kansas City legends. On June 20, Go North KC hosts a free Kick It 3v3 at Happy Rock Park in Gladstone, Missouri, before their watch party.
Make Crown Center a must-see
Flying international flags all summer, Crown Center is hosting a Soccer Darts Challenge, a Hallmark-designed mural and a giant soccer ball. While you’re there, Kaleidoscope offers free 50-minute art-making sessions for kids 14 and under (Thursday–Saturday), and Crown Center Showplace is running a free Mo Willems exhibit. LEGOLAND Discovery Center and SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium sit side by side for brick building and fish finding.
Flying international flags all summer, Crown Center is hosting a Soccer Darts Challenge, a Hallmark-designed mural and a giant soccer ball. While you’re there, Kaleidoscope offers free 50-minute art-making sessions for kids 14 and under (Thursday–Saturday), and Crown Center Showplace is running a free Mo Willems exhibit. LEGOLAND Discovery Center and SEA LIFE Kansas City Aquarium sit side by side for brick building and fish finding.
Explore the metro
Wonderscope Children’s Museum is KC’s only fully accessible children’s museum with STEAM play. Science City at Union Station has 120+ exhibits and a SkyBike 30 feet in the air. The Rabbit hOle is a walk-through storybook experience that TIME named one of the World’s Greatest Places.
The Arabia Steamboat Museum features 200 tons of perfectly preserved 1856 frontier cargo. The Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, a 202-acre nature sanctuary, is a journey around the world, and Worlds of Fun runs summer-long America 250 programming with weekly fireworks included. Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead is a family favorite, and the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop brings the Santa Fe Trail to life. The Museum at Prairiefire offers live animal encounters, dinosaur digs and missions to space in a virtual reality experience.
Wonderscope Children’s Museum is KC’s only fully accessible children’s museum with STEAM play. Science City at Union Station has 120+ exhibits and a SkyBike 30 feet in the air. The Rabbit hOle is a walk-through storybook experience that TIME named one of the World’s Greatest Places.
The Arabia Steamboat Museum features 200 tons of perfectly preserved 1856 frontier cargo. The Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, a 202-acre nature sanctuary, is a journey around the world, and Worlds of Fun runs summer-long America 250 programming with weekly fireworks included. Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead is a family favorite, and the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop brings the Santa Fe Trail to life. The Museum at Prairiefire offers live animal encounters, dinosaur digs and missions to space in a virtual reality experience.
Go further
The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum explores the mysteries of aviation. The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, has the Apollo 13 Command Module and pairs perfectly with Strataca, where a hoist drops you 650 feet underground in under 90 seconds.
Four hours east, St. Louis adds the free St. Louis Zoo, the Gateway Arch, the one-of-a-kind City Museum and The Magic House.
The Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum explores the mysteries of aviation. The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, has the Apollo 13 Command Module and pairs perfectly with Strataca, where a hoist drops you 650 feet underground in under 90 seconds.
Four hours east, St. Louis adds the free St. Louis Zoo, the Gateway Arch, the one-of-a-kind City Museum and The Magic House.
For even more to explore this summer in the Heartland, check out the 100 + Things to Do.
