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About Wichita

Downtown Wichita

Attractions and Events

• Sedgwick County Zoo (one of the country’s largest)

• 33 museums, with a nationally-known museum district including the Wichita Art Museum, Botanica, Cowtown and Exploration Place

• Wichita State campus and downtown outdoor sculpture collections

• 80+ parks and recreation areas

• Venues: Century II Performing Arts & Convention Center; Intrust Bank Arena; Hartman Arena

• Sports: Shocker Athletics; AAA baseball in a new downtown minor league ballpark complex (coming soon); Wichita Thunder hockey; Wichita Force indoor football; FC Wichita soccer

• Wichita River Festival

• Final Friday art gallery crawl

• Tallgrass Film Festival

• Open Streets ICT

• McConnell Air Force Base Open House and Airshow

Wichita Information

The greater Wichita metro area of more than 645,000, especially Wichita’s downtown, is undergoing a period of renaissance of civic pride, construction, renovation and community engagement, paralleling the growth of the Wichita State campus. Much of this has been outlined in The Chung Report, which was established both as an online information source and catalyst for change.

The Wichita area is the state’s medical, financial, education, manufacturing, communications, cultural and entertainment hub. It is the “Air Capital of the World,” with major aerospace manufacturers and numerous support industries anchoring the city’s industrial base.

From huge annual festivals and serene nature preserves to world-class dining and a thriving arts community, Wichita offers endless opportunities. The city has been listed by national websites as one of the top 10:

  • Best cities for new college graduates
  • Best places to live
  • Surprising foodie cities
  • Best value cities

Wichita is known for short commute times, with the campus located within 10 minutes of downtown and 20 minutes of the airport and all local businesses and entertainment venues.

Major employers

  • Spirit AeroSystems, the state’s largest employer
  • Textron Aviation (Cessna and Beechcraft)
  • Koch Industries
  • Cargill Protein Group
  • Ascension Via Christi
  • McConnell Air Force Base
  • Wesley Healthcare
  • Airbus Americas Engineering
  • Bombardier Learjet
  • NetApp
  • Westar Energy (becoming Evergy through a merger)
  • Excel Industries Inc.
  • Johnson Controls 
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