$40 Million Dollars at The Money Museum in Kansas City

 Kansas City, MO

I knew I was a 10!

The Money Museum

This morning we did our morning routine and then headed to the KC Streetcar and rode all the way to Union Station.   On our ride to Union Station there was a little girl, about 6 or 7 years old, and she was very excited to be on the Streetcar.  At every stop she yelled to the people getting on, "COME ON IN PEOPLE!"  I quietly hoped that she represents the future.  After getting off at the end of the line we walked through Penn Valley Park to The Money Museum.  The Money Museum is attached to The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and is free to visit.  You just have to show your ID and go through a metal detector.  

Good news!  They are extending the KC Streetcar!

We entered the WW1 Memorial area but went straight to The Money Museum

Looking back across the fountain to Union Station

The WW1 Museum and Observation Tower

After going through Security you can visit the temporary exhibit highlighting the local Negro League Museum and see the commemorative coins minted.

This was the coolest thing I could think of to do with my arms.  I'm losing my edge I think.

There was a lot of "head sticking through" opportunities

You can try to lift a gold bar.  It's heavy and also gets stuck in the foam used to dampen the drops it probably takes.  

They also have a few augmented reality stations. I made it rain!

More augmented reality that didn't deserve showing the animation

We got to see how much room $40m dollars takes up.  Binion's Las Vegas crows about their $1m on display.  This was 40 times better!

I took some free money on the way out even though we don't have a lot of room for it.

Walking Back to Union Station

We decided to walk back to Union Station after the Money Museum.  It is a good spot to get out of the sun after a 20 minute walk.

We realized we forgot to take a selfie in front of the Museum so we phoned it in and got this one.

We explored the outside of the WW1 Museum.  Our friend Gordon is back in town tomorrow and we will probably be going inside with him.

The iconic Western Auto sign and building

This monument was dedicated by Calvin Coolidge in 1926.  It was supposed to be a monument to the War to End All Wars but we entered another World War just 13 years later.

Union Station

We entered Union Station and enjoyed the air conditioning and then noticed there was a whole historical tour we had missed when we were here earlier this month. There were 3 floors about the history of Union Station and the renovation and there was even a great place to look out over Union Station from above.  I'm glad we went back!

A view of the WW1 Memorial from the 2nd floor of Union Station

We took the stairs and the elevator to see them both

The different types of stone used to build the station.  

An old photo of Union Station

The current version of Union Station

What kind of trophy is this?  Obviously you aren't a golfer.

Not all heroes wear capes, but this one does!

They updated Union Station in the 60s

We were sad we missed the auction by a handful of decades.

For a while the terminal was covered in a dome to reduce heating costs.

Again, put this on a shirt and take my money!

They had a Model Train area too

And Legos

The Freight House Bridge

A couple of weeks ago we went to Grunauer for dinner and I noticed this cool bridge.  Turns out it is The Freight House Bridge that connects Union Station to The Freight House area.  I remembered this bridge and wanted to cross it.  Turns out Donna wanted to go to Grunauer for lunch so our goals were aligned!  The walk over the bridge was everything one could hope for.

Amtrak's Siemens #4611.  I thought it would be easy to figure out where this train was going because I had the train, time, and location but apparently I don't have strong Train Spotting Skills.  There is probably a website out there that will tell me.

A Kansas City Southern Freight Train passed by us too

Lunch at Grunauer was great.  You should really go when you are in town.  Also this beer was refreshing!

After lunch we stopped by Up Down KC because we still had 3 leftover tokens.  Today is the 25th anniversary of Golden Eye for the N64.  I didn't stay for the tournament because my Golden Eye skills are weak now.

They were showing Raiders of the Lost Ark while we were there.

It was another great day in KC.  We are closing out our last week here.  Time is absolutely flying by.  Soon we will be on another camping road trip and we are looking forward to it.

If you missed yesterday's post you can find it here!