The Kansas Children’s Discovery Center in Topeka is the coolest place! You probably don’t have to have “Kansas children” to get in, but if you can borrow a couple for the day it will spare you a lot of uncomfortable scrutiny when you’re trying to enjoy that nerf-ball-in-the-pnuematic tube thing…
The center is located near the Topeka zoo and is well worth a day-trip in from Kansas City. The project was designed by Gould Evans in Lawrence.