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by Wonderscope

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Happy New Year!

Hello friends, and Happy New Year!

We are so excited to welcome everyone back to Wonderscope for another year filled with play. As we look ahead to 2026, we want to look back on 2025 and celebrate all we accomplished, and thank all of you for helping us reach our goals.

With a mission to spark a love of learning through the universal and uniting power of play, our focus every day is to provide the best environment for all children to play, discover, create, and learn.

As Kansas City’s only nonprofit STEAM-based children’s museum, we are committed to ensuring equitable access for every child across our city, regardless of race or economic status. But to do all that we do would be impossible without the support of so many of you. Thank you for your contributions to support our efforts. Thank you for donating to the WonderFund. Thank you for purchasing memberships. Thank you for celebrating your special birthdays at the museum, and thank you for telling your friends about us or bringing them along.

As we look back to 2025, here are a few highlights:

  • The Starfall Foundation Kindness Counter launched at Wonderscope.
  • We added a Tricycle Garage, along with a gas pump and an EV charging station, to our NatureScape from a grant from the Royals Foundation.
  • Also, in Naturescape, the Pollination Station opened in early summer, sponsored by Green Pest Solutions, which joined us again for a butterfly release in August.
  • We welcomed St. Luke’s Hospital, their FAME program, and their sponsorship of our healthy plate wall.
  • Partnering with Rainy Day Books, we hosted our first-ever Book Fair.
  • We cannot forget the wonderful visit we had from Gabby!

More importantly, in 2025, we helped:

  • 97 Title 1 schools visited Wonderscope through our Wonder Fund.
  • More than 600 families secured memberships through our Wonder Fund.
  • Our Sensory Monday welcomed just over 200 children who need special accommodations to play in the museum.
  • More than 200 families completed our Parenting with Play program.
  • Late in the year, we rolled out two new daily programs: Science Time and KidFit, and your responses to our survey tell us these programs were just what you were looking for!

In 2026, we don’t plan to slow down! Our Daily Programs and exhibits will continue to inspire learning through play. Our Crossroads Exhibit will open a new ticket booth at our Steam Train. We have a new partnership with the Missouri Beef Industry Council, with exciting activities to come and, of course, our fun events: Trivia Night, Eat Drink Play, and Monster Bash.

Children’s museums are a symbol of how a community treats and respects children. We know that in Kansas City, children are valued and treasured by the trust and support you show us here at Wonderscope. We take that responsibility seriously and look forward to your continued support this year.

Here’s to more learning, playing, and growing at Wonderscope!

Best,

Roxane Hill
Executive Director

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