Spring Break 2021 Wichita KS

Spring break for Wichita Public Schools begins March 22, but for Goddard, Maize, and possibly some of the private schools and other outlying districts, it starts on the 15th. Need ideas for where to go and things to do on the cheap for kids, teens, and college students for spring break in Wichita? We’ve compiled this list of Wichita spring break activities and ideas for having fun.

I say this every year but it’s especially true in 2021:  double-check all events before heading out. If you see some spring break fun we missed please leave a comment below.

Bookmark this page, because we’re going to keep adding to it. By the time we’re done, there will be a lot of spring break activities listed here. And keep scrolling to see the day-by-day list of spring break events to see some really fun ideas for your spring break vacation.

Don’t forget to check out the Entertainment app for coupons at area restaurants and attractions. (It’s also a money-saver if you go out of town for spring break!) And Visit Wichita’s Explore Card will save you $2 at many city attractions. 

We’ve divided the list into sections to make it easier to find what you’re looking for: Wichita Attractions, Spring Break Camps, Spring Break Events, Indoor Activities, Outdoor Activities.

p.s. In every post I link to more information or give a phone number you can call. Please double-check all the details before you head out.

Wichita Attractions Spring Break Activities and Membership Specials

Getting a membership to a favorite local attraction can save you money all spring, summer, and fall. I know of three in particular that are great deals right now: 

Tanganyika Season Pass sale: During the sale, which continues only until March 14, 2021, season passes are just $24.99 per person for unlimited visits throughout the summer, and this includes access to the new splash park

Field Station: Dinosaurs family memberships: On sale through March 28, 2021 for just $99 per family. This membership includes unlimited visits, shows, activities, mini golf, and more. 

Old Cowtown Museum family membership: The Family Membership is just $65 (and that’s regular price) and includes two adults and all of the kids under 18. This is an amazing deal because most of the special events held at Cowtown throughout the season are included with your membership. 

Area attractions are also planning some spring break fun this year: 

Museum of World Treasures is having two weeks of spring break in 2021! Each day you’ll learn about a different ancient civilization. This sounds soooo neat!

Botanica will open the carousel and hide gnomes around the gardens for you to find on a scavenger hunt. What a fun opportunity to give all the gardens at Botanica a closer inspection. While you’re there, check out the Scholastic book fair and help name the new tarantula. More info.

Wichita Art Museum This year’s Spring Break Artcation is kind of a hybrid style. The museum welcomes youth for just $1 admission (including high school and college students with ID!) during spring break. They also have a free Artcation kit this year (see below) that you can do at home.

Kansas Aviation Museum has its kid-friendly (and oh-so inexpensive) Little Aviators program during either of the spring break weeks, and this is kind of an indoor/outdoor activity because if the weather’s nice you can go outside and see the real planes up close. The indoor area for kids has undergone some awesome upgrades with flight simulators and more. 

Wichita Spring Break Camps and Kits

In lieu of spring break camps this year, some of our local organizations are supporting kids’ spring break fun with kits you can pick up and take home. Here are a few we’ve heard of so far:

• Sedgwick County Extension Spring Break Kit (Free. Deadline Mar. 5, 2021)
• Wichita Art Museum Spring Break Artcation (Free)
• Also, available year-round are the free Great Plains Nature Center pocket guides to wildlife (Free)
• Sedgwick County Zoo Spring Fling ($150/$170)
• Exploration Place Spring Break Camp in a Box ($35/$45)
• Tanganyika Spring Break Camp, $125 per week
• Wichita Park & Recreation One-Day Camps, $30
• Wichita Park & Recreation Kids Konnection, $22/day
• OR put together your own spring break experience by following some of our suggestions below. (Just be sure to double-check that things are open now; I wrote that list a few years ago, pre-pandemic.) 

Indoor Spring Break Activities in Wichita

If it happens to be cold or raining during spring break, we have some ideas for you! Please note: Some of these indoor activities may still have limited times/open hours or other restrictions. Be sure to double-check at each venue before you go. 

Visit a Museum (or all the museums!) Pick up a Wichita Explore Card and get $2 off admission per person at 11 Wichita museums and attractions. You can pick up a card for FREE at the Visit Wichita office, or pay for admission at one of the participating attractions and ask for the Explore Card. You’ll be able to get the discount at any other participating attraction through the end of the year. If you pick it up in person at Visit Wichita, the discounts start right away. The office is at 515 S. Main St., Suite 115, 316-265-2800.

Go to the Flea Market This year, the Wichita Flea Market dates sit squarely in the middle of spring break for the Maize/Goddard/private schools and the Wichita Public Schools on March 20 and 21. Admission is cheap – just $3 per adult; kids 12 and younger get in free. This flea market is indoors, so it will happen rain or shine.

Go to School The McCormick School Museum is open Sunday afternoons and Wednesday mornings and admission is by donation. (School is always more fun when you don’t have to go! 🙂 ) The 100 year old school houses the history of USD 259.

Karg Art Glass  It’s free to go in and watch the artists blow glass Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays between 8:30 a.m. and noon, and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. You may want to call first to be sure artists are working. The gallery is at 111 N. Oliver,  Kechi 67067, and you can call to confirm their hours at 316-744-2442.

Go Bowling for Less The Wichita State University Shocker Grill and Lanes is open to the public for bowling and other fun. The bowling alley is located in the Rhatigan Student Center and it is open to the public.

Go Retro with Games Wichita now has places where you can play pinball, hang out and play board games, or beat your old high score on Ms. PacMan (at The Arcade)!

Try Milkfloat or another one of the fun Sweet Shops in Wichita. If you’ve been too busy, now is the time to fix that. You’ll like it. If they have the Girl Scout Thin Mint Pie, which is a seasonal item, get that! 😀 Their website says the cafe is open again. 

Play Family Trivia A few locations around Wichita do Trivia Nights that are fun and family-friendly. Two we know of include Planet Sub’s Family Trivia Night and Chicken N Pickle’s Family-Friendly Trivia Night. Both are on Monday nights!

Take in a Movie Although are options for movie theaters are more limited this year, we do still have options for taking the kids to the movies “on the cheap” during spring break! Check out our full list of discount movies in Wichita. Off the top of my head, I can think of Exploration Place’s dome theater, Starlite Drive In, and the AMC Northrock theater that are planning to be open. 

Learn more about kid-friendly attractions in Wichita.

Outdoor Activities for Spring Break

Check out Wichita’s amazing parks We have our favorites; maybe you do too. But if there’s a park in Wichita you haven’t explored before, why not use the opportunity of spring break to go exploring? Bring a camera and maybe even a notebook to jot down your discoveries!

Take a Hike during spring break! Explore miles of urban or natural trails in Wichita – whichever sounds like the most fun to you. Bring a camera along to document your discoveries along the way. I’ve gathered all of my family’s favorite places to walk – and a few walks we have yet to try – here: Where to Walk in Wichita

Sedgwick County Art Walk Although they started building it a couple of years ago now, the Art Walk is still fairly new. When you enter Sedgwick County Park from the south entrance on 13th Street, there will be a parking lot on your right. Behind that is a meadow that is being transformed into an “art walk.” Right now it has a limestone maze in the shape of a turtle, as well as a sculpture with two cranes called “Crane Dance”. Later they’ll be adding some more large sculptures. Sedgwick County Park is already a fun place to spend a sunny day, so the new art walk will just add to that. The art installation is privately funded. You can learn more about it here: SedgwickCountyArtWalk.org 

Ride a Bike Bike/Walk Wichita has a terrific page listing bike trails, bike paths, and maps of places you can ride your bike in Wichita. If you feel like you need to brush-up on your bike skills first, they have Bike 101 videos and even Bike Skills classes.

Take a Tour and Photo Walk of Wichita with two new apps that will help you see your city in a new way!

• Bike/Walk Wichita and the Wichita Public Library teamed up to put together the Wichita History Walk app. Walk through stories of Delano’s rowdy past, the enterprising history of Downtown, and the 1920s building boom on East Douglas. Learn more and get the app.
• The Douglas Design District has made it even more fun to find the murals that were painted during Avenue Art Days. The app gives you a map with all the locations, and when you click on an icon, info about that mural and the artist pops up. Download the app for  Android | Apple and share your photos on social media with the hashtag #AvenueArtDays.

This is one of the spring break activities I am looking forward to doing! I seriously hope we have good weather!

Paint and Hide Kindness Rocks This is the perfect spring break idea for kids, since it combines crafting, getting outside, and helping others. If you haven’t heard of this or you need to know how to get started, read Emily’s article, Spreading Kindness with Painted Rocks. The idea is to inspire, uplift, or encourage someone who happens upon your masterpiece – you just do it to make someone’s day!

Go on a Scavenger Hunt Have you ever seen a picture of something cool in Wichita and wondered where it was? Spring break is the perfect opportunity to find it! This is probably better with older kids, teens, and/or college students, but it’s REALLY fun! Take pics!!

The Wichita WATER Center Although the FREE indoor educational center that adjoins Hermann Hill Park is still closed according to the City’s website, you can still enjoy the outdoor aquariums then take a hike on the nature trail that follows a man-made creek to the Arkansas River. (Trail guide pamphlets are located at the trail head.) The park also has a disc golf course.

Sedgwick County Zoo Get the most from your membership (or the cost of admission) by timing your visit to take in a Keeper Talk or animal feeding time. Check the Daily Schedule and Planning Your Visit pages to find out what’s happening when. And don’t forget to save $2 on zoo admission with the Wichita Explore Card! (If you visit frequently, see how a zoo membership can save you a ton of money.)

Tanganyika Wildlife Park reopens in March and will be open daily during Spring Break from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a terrific place to go if you can. From March 1-14, 2021, you can purchase a season pass for $24.99 (the price of only one visit). If you missed that deal, you can still save $2 per admission with the Wichita Explore Card. 316-794-8954

Starlite Drive-In Thanks to a whole lot of people who weren’t willing to let it go, the Starlite Drive-In is still here in Wichita. Those two weekends during spring break might be a great time to go revisit the drive-in, but it will be open from now until sometime next fall. 

Ride the Trolley I believe the trolley is back up and running now, although its schedule may have changed. The Q-line Trolley in Downtown/Delano is completely free and runs at various times Monday through Saturday. Read more about how to ride Wichita’s Q-line trolley here. It will take you to some of the fun spots we mention below!

For more ideas, also see: Wichita Attractions on the Cheap, 25 Free Things to Do in Wichita Kansas, Movies on the Cheap in Wichita, and the Event Listing here at Wichita on the Cheap.

What are YOUR ideas for Spring Break on the Cheap? You can let me know in the comments section below or on Facebook or Twitter.

Note: I’ve provided links to the various websites or phone numbers so that you can double-check the times, dates, and prices. The information is accurate to the best of my knowledge, but if things change I don’t always hear about it. You can use this as a general guide, but it would be smart to check the links or call before you head out.

Spring break ideas for kids and families at home

Wichita Spring Break Things to Do

Here are the things to do on our calendar for Spring Break Week in Wichita. This is everything – so some events might not be for kids. 

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Wichita Flea Market

9:00 am to 5:00 pm | $3.00-5.00 | Kansas Star Arena

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Wichita Flea Market

10:00 am to 4:00 pm | $3.00 | Kansas Star Arena

Monday, March 22, 2021

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Friday, March 26, 2021

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Sunday, March 28, 2021

For more indoor spring break activities, check out Emily’s article that’s just packed with suggestions for Indoor Play Places and Kids Activities. You’ll have more options than you can fit into a spring break week!