Hutchinson, KS Outdoor Activities

Adventure Sports provides 385,000 gallons of deep, heated pool water for a realistic scuba-training experience despite the landlocked land on which it sits. The discover scuba-diving experience is a one-time, roughly 1.5-hour introductory course to the world of scuba diving. With training from a PADI-certified instructor, you'll learn the basics of using scuba gear, including the mask, fins, snorkel, weights, tank, and suction cups. All Adventure Sports instructors are up to date with training in CPR and first aid.

All Star Adventures and All Star Sports's two facilities are loaded with fun-park distractions for both kids and adults. While All Star Sports focuses on athletic attractions such as wall climbing and batting cages, All Star Adventures models its facility after amusement-park thrills that include helicopter rides, a tilt a whirl, and a classic-style carousel. Both locations house a snack bar and throw open their gates seven days a week, remaining open long past the time when the sun goes to bed and the moon comes out to daydream about Buzz Aldrin.

Founded in 2003, the Tallgrass Film Festival celebrates dramas, comedies, documentaries, and short films from all over the world. Especially focused on the underdogs of moviemaking, the festival invites auteurs to enjoy four days of eager audiences, after-parties, panel discussions, and popcorn fights. The festival has played an integral role in Wichita’s growing appeal to burgeoning directors and screenwriters, as noted by MovieMaker magazine earlier this year.

The animal-loving owners of Tanganyika Wildlife Park know that in order to save endangered animals, humans must feel a strong connection to them. It is the park’s mission to foster this connection by putting visitors in close contact with its rare animals. Visitors can gaze at cheetahs and red pandas and feed reticulated giraffes and African spur-thighed tortoises, which are best known for their role in slow-motion Westerns. The park also safeguards endangered animals from extinction by breeding species such as clouded leopards and amur leopards.