Opening day for the $25 million, 6 1/2-acre playground at Wichita’s Exploration Place is still months away: The children’s museum is planning to debut it on March 13, 2026 — the first day of spring break for USD 259.
But the group that raised $2.3 million to pay for the centerpiece of the playground — a giant, interactive water feature that cascades down a hill — got a blustery sneak preview of it on Wednesday afternoon.
Called the Wichita Water Play Cascades, the feature is a “gift to the city of Wichita” paid for by Junior League of Wichita, which this year is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Led by members Cindy Carnahan and Lynn Ward, the women’s volunteer organization raised the money for the water play area in just six months. One of the group’s goals was that members could see and celebrate the project before its 100th anniversary year was up.
“I am very happy to say we made it with only 28 days to spare,” Ward told the group of Junior League members, many of whom had just braved construction dirt and chilly wind gusts in their work clothes to see the water cascades up close…