Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum


Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 9:00 am to 6:00pm. Sunday: Noon to 6:00pm

Cost: $8.00 for adults. $3.00 For children under 12. Free for children under 5.

Appropriate Ages: Stroller kids. Kids probably aged 7 and up and enjoy baseball. Not the best place for toddlers.

Location: 1616 East 18th, Street. KC MO

Parking: Parking is free and on the street in front of the museum. This area can get a little busy so you might have to drive around a bit. We parked on a Thursday morning and really had no problems.

Review: The museum is in the 18th and Vine area which does give off a very cool vibe. It's a place that has some history and the museum fits in well here. The museum itself is in the center of the street and shares the same space as the Jazz Museum. We didn't get a chance to do that one but it's worth a second visit to do so.

Like many museums in the KC area, this one is well done. It tells the story of the players and the people behind the Negro leagues. There are historical exhibits here to see but this is a more of a read as you go thing. That's not to say that there are not artifacts there as well, there are. But the true greatness of this museum is the story that is told that is behind all the artifacts.

The museum does a great job telling you this story. Pretty soon, you feel like you are taken back to that era. The owners, executives and the players guide you through that time. As one of the dad's said, it does a great job or recreating the era that we were there to learn about.

There are a few interactive type exhibits there but not many. You can type in a players name and it will search for it and give you the background or known information on them. There is also a movie but we were unable to see it as the kids tend to have problems staying still for very long.

We did the self guided tour and it ended in one of the highlights of the museum. They have recreated a miniture baseball field at the end and have statues of at each of the positions of famous players. This is actually pretty cool with the low lighting.

A quick note about taking the kids though. There is way to much reading for kids unable to read to really enjoy this. You'll spend most of your time chasing them around. The kids did like looking at the bats, uniforms and balls as much as the dads did. However, they had little patience for the abundance of reading. My advice is to leave toddlers at home and only take stroller kids or older kids that can truly get this a little bit better than ours did.

All in all, this is something that I would want to visit again without the kids with me. Take a chance on it and you won't be sorry.



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