New for 2026!Halloween Was Made for Nights Like This

Skeleton Safari

250+ skeletons have taken over the Adventure Playscape! Follow the safari through the playscape, meet the animals and creatures behind the bones and put your knowledge to the test along the way.

Look up, down and all around. Some are impossible to miss. Others are tucked into some pretty clever places. How many can you find?

Jinkies! We’ve Got a Mystery to Solve!

*NEW EXHIBIT*

Scooby-Doo and the gang have a new mystery on their hands. And this time, you’re part of the action. Enter a haunted mansion where a jewel-thieving ghost is on the loose, then follow the clues through an immersive adventure built around the characters, comedy and spooky fun that have made Scooby-Doo a favorite for generations.

But every good Scooby-Doo mystery eventually comes down to figuring out what’s really going on. Each room puts a different Mystery Inc. skill into your hands as your family works together to uncover the truth and unmask the villain.

Curiosity Looks a Lot Like Science

*NEW EXHIBIT*

Curious George has spent generations getting into things, trying things and figuring out how the world works. Now kids can join him.

Enter the familiar world of Curious George and turn all that curiosity into hands-on science. Kids can build, experiment and test their ideas as they explore George’s neighborhood, head to the country and even venture into space. Along the way, everyday play becomes an introduction to math, physics and engineering, built especially for young children who are already very good at asking “what happens if I do this?”

Play the Night Away

The Adventure Playscape is open and ready for play throughout Halloween Nights. Glowing lights, larger-than-life decorations and plenty of October atmosphere give it a whole new look. Race down the slides, climb to the top, take over the airplane and rocket and burn off as much energy as possible before the night is over. As the sun goes down, the lights take over and the whole Playscape gets a Halloween glow.

Next Level Fun

You’ve never experienced the Adventure Playscape like this before! You already love climbing to the top, racing down the slides and finding a hundred different ways to play.

And then we added more.

Snow flurries sweep across the Foggy Flint Hills while beams of light cut through the Sensory Garden. In the garden maze, the path itself becomes part of the play, responding with bursts of color as you move across it.

Science Experiments

This is science that gets a reaction. Exploration Place’s live science team puts fire, chemistry, electricity, black light and luminescence right into the action with hands-on experiments built for Halloween Nights.

Have your camera ready. This is science that looks as cool as it sounds.

Laser Halloween

The largest Dome screen in Kansas takes on a whole new light with a Halloween laser show. Brilliant beams of color sweep across the 60-foot Dome, surrounding the audience with music, motion and a little October magic.

Schedule: 6:30 pm, 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm, 8:30 pm
Run time: 15 minutes
Playlist: Beetlejuice theme, Ghostbusters theme, Thriller, Monster Mash

Can Science Solve the Case?

Join the investigation in Mystery Mansion, a fast-moving show where strange happenings become spectacular experiments right in front of you. Follow the evidence through the mansion and try to figure out what is really scaring away the guests.

Schedule: 6:30 pm
Run time: 25 minutes

Light It Up

Keep an eye on the outside walls of Exploration Place. They’ve become a massive animated canvas for Halloween Nights, stretching multiple stories high and across two expansive walls. Walking skeletons march across a not-so-spooky forest floor, spiders swing from glowing webs and slime oozes down the walls as one scene gives way to the next.

Created by Exploration Place’s own video team, the animations change throughout the night with new characters, tiny details and unexpected moments worth watching for. The fun is seeing what shows up next.

Come in Character

Costumes make everything more fun, and Halloween Nights is no exception. With glowing lights, larger-than-life decorations and plenty happening throughout Exploration Place, there will be some pretty great places to snap a photo along the way.

Planning to climb, slide and play? Costumes should allow for clear vision and easy movement. Please avoid long capes, robes, cords, masks or accessories that could become caught on play equipment, and leave costume props behind before climbing or using the slides.

[Playscape Safety Rules]

Spot the Switch-Ups

Halloween has found its way inside the museum, too. Familiar exhibits have picked up a few seasonal surprises for Halloween Nights.

Look closely for Halloween additions throughout Kansas in Miniature, meet some seasonal patients in Ready Vet Go and send black and orange scarves flying through the wind tubes in Kansas Kids Connect. Even a few Halloween rubber ducks have found their way into the water tables in the Explore Kansas gallery.

Keep an eye out as you explore. There are more little Halloween switch-ups waiting throughout the museum.