This week Kansas City is beautiful and sunny and ready for you to be outside. 😎 And we bet you're ready for that, too!
A local fair-weather fave is the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 💙 Kansas Citians picnic, play and propose 💍 on the sprawling grounds. In 2019, they even played mini golf on a nine-hole course inspired by the art in the museum’s permanent collection. 🖼️
This year marks the return of the Museum's Art Course. ⛳ When you go to play a round, you'll find art-inspired putting greens with great backstories. And your fellow putters may have no idea. 😏
The Nelson’s Art Course is open Friday-Sunday until May 22, then will extend for summer hours. Tickets are $16 for adults; $12 for Museum members; $10 for children 4-12 years and free for anyone younger. Purchase tickets here, at the Info Desk, or by calling 816-751-1278. See how the Museum is taking extra COVID-19 precautions as well.
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This hole is called “Eyy Putter Putter” and is a riff on Radcliffe Bailey’s “Mound Magician.” The actual artwork is a tribute to Satchel Paige, and the new hole is a tribute to the 100th anniversaries of the formation of the Negro Leagues and the Kansas City Monarchs. ⚾
The hole was designed by Dimensional Innovations in Overland Park and has the number 25 at the center — Paige’s number. It replaced a hole called “Pedal” which was a tribute to Evelyn Hofer’s photograph “Girl with Bicycle.”
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See geometry in a new light while playing the second hole. 💡 The original work by Argentinian Luis Tomasello is called "Chromoplastic Mural" and is installed directly across from a window on the wall of the Nelson-Atkins, positioned to allow sunlight to become part of the art. The installation consists of “672 white, seven-sided polyhedrons placed in a repetitive pattern to create a grid with equally proportioned spaces between the forms,” according to the museum’s website. Rockhurst High School teacher Andrew Wilson unfolded those shapes to create this hole.
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Casey Claps, the museum’s manager of strategic initiatives, says that when Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen designed the iconic shuttlecocks, they were imagining giants playing badminton using the museum itself as the net. 🏸 They placed the shuttlecocks with this imagined scenario in mind. “So, at this hole, you’re actually stepping into that narrative as the giant, playing this game along with them,” Claps explains. Try to nudge your golf ball up the ramp, over the tiny Nelson and into a shuttlecock — good luck!
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If you’re craving a bigger, more commercial mini golf course, the Kansas City metro has several. Here are two of our favs.
⛳ Smiley’s Golf Complex
Smiley’s has two 18-hole courses to choose from. “Mini Haunts” is a straightforward putt-putt style course, while “Famous Golf” is, according to Smiley’s website, “one of the toughest miniature golf courses ever built,” with designs inspired by the world’s most famous golf courses. 🏌️
COVID note: Their clubhouse is still closed to protect employees and customers, but when players arrive they can go around the side of the clubhouse to the back window to start their game. Masks are required if social distancing isn’t possible and when entering the clubhouse to use the restrooms. Currently, the maximum group size for minigolf is five players. 🖐️
⛳ Parkville Minigolf
This 18-hole course is located on a bluff high above the lovely town of Parkville. It features an ice cream shop that serves 16 flavors, and will reopen for the season in April. Keep your eye on Parkville Minigolf’s website or Facebook page for the exact reopening date.
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| More Adventures in Kansas City
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|  | Friday Night Sound Bites
If you're looking for some live music to start off your weekends, head to Lenexa Public Market's Friday Night Sound Bites at 5:30-8:30 p.m. This series of live outdoor events features food, drinks and live music, starting with local band Just Add Water.
| |  | Scavenger Hunt Kansas City
In search of a fun Kansas City adventure this weekend? Check out Puzzling Adventures — a cross between a scavenger hunt, an adventure race and a self-guided tour of KC. Tickets are $20 per team and you can sign up online.
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