The Sedgwick County Commission received the annual report about Exploration Place, from director Adam Smith.
Exploration Place saw a nine percent increase in attendance between summer 2019 and summer 2021. They sold 5,510 memberships, the highest in the museum's history and had sold-out summer camps.
Smith says to complete the recovery; more field trips, facility rentals and larger events will have to return.
The next big exhibit coming in April is entitled "Health, Inside out" which will cover mental health and other related matters. The live science center in the island building will also get a makeover.
Exploration Place's five-year strategic plan is to bring in immersive, traveling exhibits and to develop their outdoor space. The center sits on 20 acres of property and Smith says he would love to see something that mirrors Tulsa, Oklahoma's "Gathering Place." A steering committee will be working on this over the winter with potential designs and a budget by next spring. His dream would be to open the new outdoor space by the center's 25th anniversary in 2025.