Hallmark Visitor’s Center

Fun place to see some history. The place was great the staff knowledgable. The only draw back was a tiny gift shop. I still managed to spend a lot in there but if it were bigger with greater selection it would have forced the fifth star.

I’ve been wanting to visit the Hallmark Visitor’s Center since we moved to Kansas City, but for one reason or another it has never happened. This is a hidden gem that should not be missed.
The Visitor’s Center is small, but it is very well done. There are beautiful displays of historic cards, Christmas trees and ornaments. They also do a great job of showing you the process of making greeting cards. I enjoyed seeing the machinery in action and also watching the interviews with members of the creative team.
Probably my favorite part was the 11-​minute video. It goes through the history of the Hallmark company and I found that I came away with a new appreciation of the care put into their products. Make sure you take some time to see the video.

Amazing lifes story. The contine to be a very active part of the community.
The cards wete the start but they creat, support and help the schools and local community.

Fun and interesting place to go. The whole center is a nice place to go around and see all the different shops. Hall mark was very nice to go thru and staff were very friendly.

An interesting little place and stop. Not as small as I expected it to be, definitely a quality display.

Looking for free activities to do in Kansas City? What’s better than taking a stroll down your own personal memory lane plus learning a bit about how Hallmark started in this quaint big city?!
I found the Visitor Center slash Mini Museum to be a bit hidden. Many thanks to locals who directed me to the right place, but if you are in the Crown Shopping Center you have to go outside to get to the entrance of the visitor center. Once inside, it’s small. Very small. I think I spent 30 minutes in the center and I was actually reading many of the plaques.
I went on a weekend so I didn’t get to see the live Hallmark artist in action (plus the gift shop was closed) but if you go on a weekday, go between 1−2pm! You’ll get to see a member of the Hallmark team at work and talk to them. There is a section with cool decorated Christmas trees, a section on their Hallmark movies, even crabby old Maxine gets a section. I loved the Hallmark keepsake ornament section as it brought back some memories of being a child with my Grandparents. Also pretty cool was the crown gallery which features crowns, the symbol of Hallmark, decorated in every which way including a couple of Disney crowns. Heart!
This is probably lame but I thought the bow machine was super cool! You can see a bow made at super speeds right before your eyes… and then get to take the bow home! There was an older gentlemen there hogging the machine making what I’m sure to be the toppings for all his grandchildren’s presents for the year. Grrrr! But I did get to make one after slowly creepin’ on a come up on the dude. I’m sure kids would think this was really cool.
Overall, it’s a quick walk thru type of mini museum but I found it to be very enjoyable and think it’s something you have to do while in Kansas City!

My wife and I were on a long weekend vacation to Kansas City and she saw the Hallmark Company had their headquarters here and they have a cool museum.
It is right in the heart of downtown and the staff was super cool. It was great seeing all the ornaments and cards they have made as well as the Christmas Trees that employees made for the CEO. They made them out of various things like stained glass, angel ornaments, and they were just beautiful.
The tour finished off with a 12 minute film that is worth watching.
A great 45 break in KC.

After playing next door at Kaleidoscope my friends and I went into the Hallmark Visitor’s Center.
The history of Hallmark is laid out for viewing as you walk through. There is a display for Presidential Holiday cards, displays of Christmas trees, a huge display of dated Christmas ornaments and a set up featuring Hallmark TV movies. My 2003 dated ornament made the display!
I did watch silver bows for presents go through a machine and made one for myself. That was pretty cool. Otherwise it seems like a lot of interactive displays and the artist at work are open during the week so I missed out.
There is A LOT to see. The younger kids (and short attention span adults) might get bored quickly. But if you can take the time, it’s a nice and free way to learn about Hallmark and Kansas City.

Nice that this is a free attraction ! Interesting look at the history of an iconic company. I thought the Christmas tree collection was really cool and I enjoyed a look through some of the ornaments, finding the ones we have. A little disappointed they didn’t have one of every ornament or series but I would imagine that would take up way too much space. Fairly small and quick to tour but neat. Worth popping in if you are in the area.

History lessons came to life when I visited the Hallmark Visitor’s Center. After walking through the Crown Center, a small sign led to the entrance of this little gem. I was greeted warmly upon entering. Self-​guided maps are at the starting point. Each station included the history along with visuals. These included the collectible ornaments, themed cards, and special toys. Videos are stationed throughout the exhibit.
My favorite parts are the interactive stations. I got to see how a gift bow is made and I even got to take home my very own bow! The other favorite is playing with the selfie station. The system picks a random theme for you on the monitor and then you enter your email to have it be sent electronically (and probably for them to collect your email address.)
I saw that there’s a daily artist station where you can interact with the artist of the day, but I left before it’s time. In the future if I come back, I’ll make an effort to stay during that time because I want to see them in action!
Overall, I had a great time at this free center!

A nice way to spend 45 minutes to an hour when visiting Kansa City. Located in crown center, this FREE attraction gives an overview of the founding Hall Family and the famed Hallmark company.
You will see famous original artwork, see presidential Christmas cards, holiday ornaments and can watch videos and even make your own souvenir gift bow. When we were there on a recent Saturday they even had a person demonstrating how they foil stamp greeting cards. You can ask him questions and get a bit of the behind the scenes look into card production.

This was a surprisingly nice tribute to the company. It was cool to learn about the company and see the years of tradition of the company. It was a good way to kill some time.

OK, this was quite a surprise. My wife and I expected to spend 30 – 40 minutes here. After all, what does a greeting card company have to offer? We spent over two hours, and probably could have spent more. First, it’s a great rags-​to-​riches family story. Second, their timeline of American history (early 1900’s to present), interspersed with Hallmark products of the time, is one of the best we’ve ever seen. The older you are the more things you’ll recognize (toys, news articles, life in general), and the more impressed (and nostalgic) you’ll probably be. Third, the artistic ability of the Hallmark employees is amazing, and is shown in various ways. You can even speak to one of the artists while you’re there.
You can also see a short video of the company history (worth the time), make a bow for yourself, see how intricate cards are made, and see the art of Winston Churchill and Norman Rockwell.
We would gladly have spent money for this tour (knowing what we do now), but thankfully it was free. A must-​see when in KC.

good place to take kids and just adults. The adults spent hours there, and got a free gift.
loved this place

I stumbled upon this museum after visiting the neighboring Kaleidoscope (a MUST see if — though you can only get in with a child). That said, I had absolutely no expectations going in and was simply looking for something to do while trying to stroll my baby to sleep. The museum is beautiful, clean, and thorough. TVs around the place show Hallmark movies and history. Industrial machines make and give you a sample of how bows are made (totally cool, actually). Selections from Hallmark’s Presidential Christmas Cards are on display (the Bush’s ordered nearly half a million one year). The best of the best ornaments are on display after a long hall of Hallmark history shows vintage and historical products in the context of what was going on in socially and politically at the time. My favorite was meeting an engineer who showed us some of the fun products she has created, including a dancing pig and penguin, and what the insides look like. We also took a few photos at their photo booth with Hallmark crowns digitally put on our heads that were e-​mailed back to us. And — BONUS — at the end we were given a beautiful canvas gift set as a gift (it looks like it was recalled because of some oops ink on the package — OK by me!). All and all, I left proud to have Hallmark in KC and looking forward to bringing my out-​of-​town family here for a visit. Thanks for your contribution to our cultural and economic landscape, Hallmark!

I have to give the Hallmark Visitor’s Center at least 3 stars because it was cool and admission was free. But honestly, I was fairly disappointed. I think a company as large, successful, and creative-​based as Hallmark could come up with a much better mini-​museum than this. I will say the staff was welcoming and warm, and I enjoyed looking at the Dali exhibit within and other art. I enjoyed the first few sections of cards throughout Hallmark’s company history but I was genuinely perplexed about the hodge podge, chaotic display. It seems to me they could make much better use of the space and spread things out and label them better. As it is, it’s overwhelming to read/​see it all in small sections. I wanted to read more of it but it was like looking at a collage, too hard to follow. I went with male friends who were most impressed by the bow-​making machine.

This a great place to visit and learn about the history of one of the best recognized companies in the world. My favorite parts were seeing the classic art from the early years, watching the production process (explained with one of the most friendly «factory workers» I have ever met), and re-​watching the classic television commercials from my youth.

This is a museum of sorts made up of the Hallmark story. From the beginning to the present, every room is amazing. The trees decorated by the Hallmark employees are beautiful. There is a room full of crowns that are simple amazing and you can watch a true craftsman working on something in the display area.
There are stations at each corner that the kids can stamp as they move through and at the end of the self guided tour you get a free gift, we got a recordable story book. Wow, what a nice token!

«When you care enough to send the very best.»
On a business trip with some time to kill I checked the visitor’s guide for Kansas City, MO and this was on the list. Why not? Hallmark has been around forever and a lot of people know what the business is all about. Walked in the doors and you can take the self-​guided tour, it’s free. It’s probably a good 45 minutes to an hour of your time. You can venture longer if you want, it’s your own pace. The tour was informative, teaches you about the company and their products. You also get a free card on your way out.
They also have a kids’ play area for a fee.

First let me start off by saying I’m one of those suckers that can sit in a store for half an hour reading every single card. It’s a bit dangerous to let me loose through the cards aisle. So when I found out that Hallmark’s HQ and visitor center were in KC, I was totally stoked.
That is till I checked out the visitor’s center. I didn’t really have many expectations but I was still somewhat disappointed. First off, it looked as if no one had updated since the 1980s. That would be fine but this is a creative company that sets trends. I’d think their visitor center would reflect this.
It did give the history of the company but I found it a little difficult to follow. Seems like everything was kind of thrown together in a hodge podge.
On the flip side, a few of the exhibits were really neat, including the pieces that some of the artists created like the xmas tree displays, some of the ornaments and especially the card production facility. There you get to see how a card is made (really neat for me since I’ve dabbled in some production work in the past) and even get to make your very own gift bow.
I’m seriously torn between two and three stars. I was going to give this place two but after thinking about it and how it’s free, I’ve given it three. I mean, it’s free! How can you go wrong. A pretty decent way of seeing part of the history of Kansas City for an hour or two. Best of all, you get a free card upon exit!