A special perk looks different for Kansas residents this year; here's what to know

MANHATTAN (KSNT) - A special perk Kansas families look forward to every year is finally back, but it looks a lot different this year.

In years past, the Sunflower Summer program ran all summer from May to August, driving visitors to tourist sites across Kansas. But this year, it's condensed down to just three weeks.

The Sunflower Summer program allows families across the state of Kansas to enjoy more than 230 tourism attractions for free. But this year, lawmakers cut this year's budget to $3 million. That forced organizers to shorten the window and to limit free tickets for adults to one per visit.

"We have to stay on that budget at this year," said Rosa Cabezas with Kansas Tourism. "Only one parent gets in for free, but you can have five children and the one parent get in for free. Whereas last year it was two parents. So that's still a great deal for families. And really, you're only going to pay for one parent for the cost of four or five people getting in."

As for the attractions that participate, may said they have seen a huge bump in business since the program started last week.

"We've had over 500 people in the first three days, and over half of our visitors are using that program to get in," Stephen Bridenstine, Executive Director of the Flint Hills Discovery Center, said. "And it's amazing to see the kids come here. A lot of these people have never been able to visit the Discovery Center before. So it's really just an opportunity to share this amazing facility and what we do with everyone in Kansas."

This is the first Sunflower Summer for the Museum, of Art and Light in Manhattan. A spokeswoman said they are seeing quite the increase in visitors. 

"We saw a huge surge in visitors," Christy Peterson, with the Museum, of Art and Light, said. "We're seeing more than 100 Sunflower Summer extra attendees a day and lots of great families with young children and their first time ever for coming to the museum."

Many of these attractions have special summer hours to accommodate for the Sunflower Summer program. The program can also be used for special events like the Day of the Cowboy at the Flint Hills Discovery Center and Family Day at the Museum of Art and Light that are being hosted later this month. 

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