Exploration Place is going all out for Halloween this year with a brand-new event called Halloween Nights! Instead of just adding a few Halloween decorations to the regular museum experience, they’re transforming the museum, Dome Theater, and six-acre Adventure Playscape after dark with lights, skeletons, science experiments, shows, Halloween surprises, and more.
And for my fellow parents who have kids who like Halloween but don’t necessarily want to be scared, this is a good one to know about. Halloween Nights is specifically designed to be playful and fun, not scary.
So Much Is Included with Your Ticket:
One of the first things I look at with an event like this is what you actually get for the admission price. Halloween Nights tickets include all of the activities and shows happening during the event. The only additional costs are food, drinks, and merchandise.
And there is A LOT happening during those three hours!
Skeleton Safari
More than 140 skeletons are taking over the Adventure Playscape! Families can follow the Skeleton Safari through the playscape, looking high and low for animals and creatures made from bones and testing their knowledge along the way. Some will be easy to spot, while others are hidden in clever places.
I feel like my girls would turn this into a competition to see who could find the most!
NEW Scooby-Doo Exhibit
This is a big bonus because Halloween Nights also includes Exploration Place’s new Scooby-Doo exhibit, Jinkies! We’ve Got a Mystery to Solve!
You’ll enter a haunted mansion where a jewel-thieving ghost is on the loose and work your way through an interactive mystery with Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang. Each room gives families a different skill to use as they follow the clues and try to unmask the villain.
NEW Curious George Exhibit
You can also explore the new Curious George exhibit during Halloween Nights. This one is geared toward younger kids and combines play with hands-on science, math, physics, and engineering.
Kids can explore George’s neighborhood, visit the country, venture into space, build things, experiment, and test their ideas.
Adventure Playscape After Dark
If your kids already love the Adventure Playscape during the day, it sounds completely different at night.
The entire area gets a Halloween glow with lights and larger-than-life decorations. Kids can still climb, race down the slides, explore the airplane and rocket, and play throughout the evening.
They’re adding some really fun nighttime effects, too. Snow flurries will sweep across the Foggy Flint Hills, beams of light will move through the Sensory Garden, and the garden maze will respond with bursts of color as you move through it.
Halloween Science Experiments
Of course, Exploration Place has to sneak some science into Halloween!
Their live science team will be doing hands-on experiments involving fire, chemistry, electricity, black light, and luminescence throughout Halloween Nights.
This sounds like one of those things where the kids are having fun and don’t even realize they’re learning something.
Halloween Laser Show in the Dome
The Dome Theater is getting in on the Halloween fun, too!
A special 15-minute Laser Halloween show will fill the 60-foot Dome with colorful laser effects set to Halloween music, including the Beetlejuice theme, Ghostbusters theme, Thriller, and Monster Mash.
Laser shows happen at:
- 6:30 p.m.
- 7 p.m.
- 7:30 p.m.
- 8 p.m.
Can Science Solve the Case?
There’s also a live science show called Mystery Mansion.
Families will follow the evidence through a mansion while strange happenings turn into science experiments right in front of you. The goal is to figure out what’s actually scaring away the mansion’s guests.
The show begins at 6:30 p.m. and lasts approximately 25 minutes.
Watch Exploration Place Come to Life
Make sure to look at the outside of the building while you’re there!
Two of Exploration Place’s exterior walls will become huge animated Halloween displays several stories tall. You’ll see things like walking skeletons, spiders swinging from glowing webs, slime running down the walls, and other animations that change throughout the evening.
Inside the museum, keep your eyes open, too. They’ve added little Halloween surprises to some of the regular exhibits, including Kansas in Miniature, Ready Vet Go, Kansas Kids Connect, and Explore Kansas.
Wear Your Halloween Costumes
Costumes are encouraged, which makes this even more fun!
Just remember that kids will probably want to climb and play on the Adventure Playscape. Exploration Place recommends costumes that allow for good visibility and easy movement. Long capes, robes, cords, masks, and accessories that could get caught on the equipment should be avoided, and costume props need to be removed before climbing or using the slides.
Grab a Bite While You’re There – Not Included
You don’t necessarily have to eat before you go.
Graze will have a special menu available exclusively during Halloween Nights with themed snacks, festive drinks, and seasonal treats. Food and drinks are not included with your Halloween Nights admission and are available for an additional cost.
I like this option because three hours is a pretty long event with kids. Being able to stop, grab something to eat, and then head back out to play makes it much easier to make a whole evening of it.
Halloween Nights 2026 Dates & Tickets
Halloween Nights runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from October 8 through Halloween.
The individual dates are:
October 8, 9 & 10
October 15, 16 & 17
October 22, 23 & 24
October 29, 30 & 31
Time: 6–9 p.m.
Location: Exploration Place, 300 N. McLean Blvd., Wichita
Halloween Nights Tickets
Adults: $21
Youth & Seniors: $16
Exploration Place Members: 50% off
Your ticket includes all Halloween Nights activities and shows. Food, drinks, and store merchandise are sold separately.
One important thing to know is that regular museum discounts don’t apply to this special event. Museums for All and the ASTC Passport Program cannot be used for Halloween Nights. Tickets are also sold for a specific date and are nonrefundable.
A Few Things to Know Before You Go
Parking at Exploration Place is FREE. If the main parking lot fills up, additional parking is available nearby.
The Water Play Cascades will NOT be running during Halloween Nights, so you don’t have to plan for wet kids. Exploration Place says they’ll have other surprises happening instead.
And because so much of this event uses the Adventure Playscape, I wondered what would happen if we get one of those unpredictable Kansas weather nights. If weather forces the Adventure Playscape to close, the indoor Halloween activities will continue, and guests can receive a pass to return on another Halloween Nights date.
Between the Skeleton Safari, two new exhibits, nighttime Adventure Playscape, science experiments, laser shows, live science show, huge outdoor animations, and all the little Halloween surprises throughout the museum, there is quite a bit included in the three-hour event. I also really like that it’s Halloween-themed without being designed to scare younger kids.
