Midwest Attractions Worth Stopping For
Traveling in the midwest is full of one thing: kitsch and interesting stops. So if you want to gather the wildest and off-the-wall stops in one road trip, these are some locations you should include as you go. Not only are most of these free to visit, but they’re also incredibly fun to say you’ve been to!
The Big Easel Project
Does a large easel sound like a piece of art to you? What if it had a giant version of one of Van Gogh’s paintings? This fun and gorgeous masterpiece were made to play at the fact that Kansas is the sunflower state, by allowing a large sunflower painting to tower eighty feet into the air. This is a gorgeous addition to the local park in Goodland, Kansas, is a fun opportunity to enjoy taking in art while sitting in a beautiful garden under the bluest sky you’ll ever see.
Nebraska’s Quilt Museum
The international Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, is well known as the world’s largest public collection of quilts. When you walk through this museum, you can enjoy taking in the history of textiles, learning how people created quilts throughout the years, and viewing the amazing art that’s been made out of this. Although this may be an ordinary museum to someone who rents Lincoln apartments, it’s just bizarre enough to be interesting to someone driving through!
The Center of the Universe
In downtown Tulsa, there’s a small concrete circle in the middle of a larger process of bricks labeled as the center of the universe. Although there’s no official signage, those who know what to look for are quick to visit and have fun with it. When you stand at the center of the circle and make any noise, it gets echoed back at you in a highly magnified and loud way. This can be fun and startling and makes you feel like you suddenly have super hearing skills, but it’s just a fun illusion of echoes.
Kansas Barbed Wire Museum
If you’ve ever wanted to see a museum that’s bizarrely specific but in a fun way: it’s time to make your way to the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum. This amazingly kitsch museum walks you through the history of this prickly barrier and how it could change the Wild West more than guns and horses. Of course, it’s a small museum, but it packs a big punch in the intrigue and the fun chance to buy a tee-shirt saying you visited! You can find this cute little building in La Crosse, Kansas.
The Chicago Bean
Officially named ‘Cloud Gate’ but lovingly called the Bean by locals, this incredibly bizarre and interesting sculpture is at the centerpiece of the Loop in Chicago. It reflects and distorts the city back at whoever looks at it and offers a chance to get a fresh view of Chicago that not many get to enjoy. Highly polished stainless steel makes it look seamless and like a drop of mercury in the city’s center. It’s fantastic and interesting and makes for a great photo opportunity.