By ALEXANDRA MIDDLEWOOD
Insight Kansas
In 2021, Kansas Tourism launched the Sunflower Summer program, opening the doors to our state’s zoos, museums, nature centers, and historical sites to Kansas families — for free! Designed to help young Kansans explore and fall in love with their home state, the program has quickly proven to be much more than a feel-good initiative.
It’s a smart investment in our children’s learning and our state’s economic vitality.
Over the past four years, the program has grown dramatically. In 2024, it offered free access to more than 200 attractions across Kansas. Over 154,000 families participated — and nearly 500,000 tickets were redeemed, a 55% increase over the previous year — bringing families into local communities, supporting tourism, and enriching the summer experiences of thousands of children.
In fact, 76% of participating families purchased meals, 72% shopped at local stores, and 20% stayed overnight, underscoring the program’s significant contribution to local economies across the state. Every dollar spent on Sunflower Summer returns multiple dollars to local communities, from ticket-adjacent spending at restaurants to increased visibility for small attractions.
In Abilene alone, the 2024 Sunflower Summer program generated the equivalent of $114,945 in ticket revenue for the Abilene and Smoky Valley Railroad, $34,395 for the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, and $10,176 for the Dickinson County Heritage Center — providing a substantial boost to the city’s cultural and historical attractions.
The impact hasn’t gone unnoticed. In April, the Sunflower Summer program was named the Best Local Impact Campaign at the 2025 eTourism Summit’s eTSY Awards — national recognition for a uniquely Kansas initiative. As Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe notes, no other state offers a program quite like it.
Yet despite its growing popularity, proven success, and bipartisan support, Sunflower Summer saw its funding significantly reduced during this year’s legislative session. As a result, the 2025 program will run for just three weeks — from July 12 to August 3 — down from a full summer season. That timeline may be cut even shorter, depending on participation and amount of use.
This is not just a scheduling change. It’s a step backward for a program that brings real returns for students, for families, and for local economies across the state.
Cuts to Sunflower Summer come at a time when federal funding cuts to similar initiatives — including National Parks and the Institute of Museum and Library Services — is being reduced. These losses compound one another, with real and lasting consequences for K-12 students, especially those from low-income families. Research consistently shows that summer educational programs help narrow the reading achievement gap by keeping students engaged and learning when school is out. Without them, many children risk falling further behind.
The Sunflower Summer program is a powerful example of the kind of initiative Kansas should champion — one that reflects our values, strengthens our communities, and demonstrates what it looks like to put our money where our mouths are.
For a fraction of the state’s budget, Sunflower Summer delivers outsized returns. When we invest in programs like this we’re putting resources behind our priorities. We’re not just funding summer activities, we’re investing in Kansas, in our kids’ educational enrichment, and local economic opportunity.
If we want to continue building a Kansas where families thrive and kids grow up proud of where they’re from, we need to fight for programs like this. The legislature should restore full funding to Sunflower Summer and Kansans should make sure lawmakers know how much it matters.
Programs like Sunflower Summer don’t just create memories, they connect kids to the places, people, and history that shape our state. That connection is what builds future citizens who care about Kansas.
Sunflower Summer is more than a program — it’s a promise to Kansas’ future. Let’s keep that promise.