Your Wichita CME conference.

Wichita after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM Wichita time. For an easy afternoon, choose one outing near your study setting: Botanica, the Wichita Art Museum, or a walk to Keeper of the Plains where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers meet. Leave time for getting there, and check each museum’s open days.

Travel, accommodation and admission to attractions are arranged separately. Your conference is built around your specialty and interests; the city is the setting you choose for it.

Museums on the River

Visit Wichita groups six museums and attractions along the Arkansas River as the Museums on the River: Botanica, Exploration Place, the Mid-America All-Indian Museum, Old Cowtown Museum, the Wichita Art Museum and the Wichita Baseball Museum. The page says they sit within five miles of each other.

The Wichita Art Museum opened in 1935 and holds more than 10,000 artworks, including pieces by Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe and Winslow Homer. Its outdoor Art Garden has about a dozen large sculptures, and a Chihuly chandelier hangs in the Great Hall. Exploration Place is a science and discovery center in a building designed by Moshe Safdie, with an exhibit on Wichita’s aircraft plants and a dome theater.

Gardens and a river landmark

Botanica covers about 20 acres in 30 themed areas near the Arkansas River, including the Chinese Garden of Friendship, the Koch Carousel Gardens and a railroad garden with model trains. The full walk is a one-mile loop, and Botanica says most visitors see the gardens in about 90 minutes. Its Cox Butterfly House is open June through September, and the garden is open Monday through Saturday, with Sunday hours added from April through October.

Keeper of the Plains is a 44-foot steel sculpture by Blackbear Bosin, standing where the Big and Little Arkansas rivers meet. Two footbridges cross the river to it. Each night a ring of five fire drums is lit around the statue, though high winds, rain or other bad weather can cancel it.

Old Town and Delano

Old Town began in the 1870s as warehouses along the rail lines and was revitalized from the 1990s. Today Visit Wichita describes brick-lined streets with restaurants, shops, theaters, galleries and museums, including the Museum of World Treasures and the Great Plains Transportation Museum. The Old Town Farmers’ Market meets on Saturdays from April through mid-December.

Historic Delano sits on the river’s west bank just west of downtown, along Douglas Avenue. Visit Wichita says cowboys drove cattle through town there in the early 1870s, and the Delano clock tower has panels showing Jesse Chisholm, namesake of the Chisholm Trail. It has more than 250 businesses, with independent shops, coffee shops and restaurants. Visit Wichita says Keeper of the Plains and Museums on the River are within a mile.

Murals and public art

Visit Wichita lists a good deal of public art, including Wichita Murals, Alley Doors, Gallery Alley, bronze sculptures downtown, the Sedgwick County Art Walk and a sculpture called The Troll. It also lists an Urban Art Tour of local murals. Walking between a few pieces is an easy way to fill an hour after study without booking anything.

Old Town’s history explains much of the brickwork. By 1911, according to Visit Wichita, the city was the nation’s second-largest distribution point for agricultural implements, and the warehouses that served it are now restaurants, shops and lofts.

Zoo or wildlife?

Sedgwick County Zoo covers about 247 acres and has more than 3,000 animals from nearly 400 species. Visit Wichita also lists the Great Plains Nature Center, Tanganyika Wildlife Park and the Kansas Aviation Museum. Compare each place’s hours with your 2:00 PM finish, and allow time to get there.

When to visit Wichita

April through June and September through October are a useful starting point. Botanica’s own seasons give a feel for the year: more than 125,000 daffodils bloom from February to April, summer brings flowers and an aquatic plant collection, and fall brings chrysanthemums and pansies. In the winter its Illuminations display uses more than 2 million Christmas lights. Check the forecast when you plan outdoor time.

Getting to Wichita and your study setting

Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) is at 2277 Eisenhower Airport Parkway and lists nonstop flights to Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas and Atlanta, with some Florida routes seasonal. Choose your accommodation and ground transport with both your study setting and your plans outside study hours in mind.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.