Family watches shark swimming in giant aquarium at the KC Zoo

New & Notable

By Randy Mason | Updated June 2025

As featured in KC Options

New and Notable

New and Notable

Explore innovations, expansions and more ways to have fun.

Photo Courtesy of Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

From the beginning, Kansas City has been a crossroads — a place where journeys began, routes intersected and some travelers chose to stay.

It’s no surprise that many of the most exciting things on our horizon turn to the same elements and innovations that propelled the city to prominence.

Pennway Point
Yet another link to the city’s industrial past, Pennway Point is a growing place that reconfigures warehouse space as an “urban playground.” Featuring miniature golf and a giant ferris wheel that provides a bird’s eye view of the downtown skyline, the entertainment district will soon add restaurants, live music stages and a neon sign alley.
Dog enjoying play time outside at BarK along the Berkley Riverfront
Berkley Riverfront
The confluence of two major rivers kickstarted Kansas City. Today, the Berkley Riverfront developments remind us of the metro’s beginnings. New apartments, shops, restaurants and Bar K — a dog park and bar named “best in the country” — are all bringing folks back to the banks of the Missouri.
Atlas9
Part immersive art, part cinematic adventure, Atlas9 is a choose-your-own-path experience unlike anything else in the region. Think museum, movie and performance — all in one. Designed by local firm Dimensional Innovations and evocative of esoteric projects like Meow Wolf, Atlas9 is slated to open in Kansas City, Kansas, in fall 2025.
The Rabbit hOle
Step inside your favorite storybook — literally. Recognized as one of TIME Magazine’s World's Greatest Places 2024, the Rabbit hOle in North Kansas City is a radically immersive museum where beloved characters and scenes from over a century of children’s literature come to life. 

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Roy Blunt Luminary Park
Want to enjoy the great outdoors? Soon you'll be able to — right in downtown KC. Plans are underway to “cap” the south downtown freeway loop, creating a public green space suitable for all kinds of gatherings and events.
Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum
Air travel is a big part of KC’s legacy, and no aviator fuels our imagination like Amelia Earhart. Her hometown of Atchison, Kansas, highlights her many achievements (and the mystery of her disappearance) in this interactive museum.
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
Before Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, the Negro Leagues gave Black ballplayers a place to showcase their skills. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the historic jazz district is building a new space to tell even more stories about these amazing athletes and their achievements.
Family walking through the Sobela Ocean Aquarium at the KC Zoo
SOBELA Ocean Aquarium
Okay, one thing KC has never had is an ocean. But the newest addition to the Kansas City Zoo is the next best thing, featuring a diverse, exciting  mix  of otters, turtles, sharks and other sea-faring creatures in a beautiful 650,000 gallon exhibit. 
Black Movie Hall of Fame
The 18th & Vine neighborhood also boasts a new reborn addition. The Boone Theater harkens back to the area’s heyday as an entertainment mecca. It’s also home base for the Black Movie Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class in 2022.
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