Get your bearings with a visit to the Museum of the Great Plains, which will give you an introduction to people, places and events in Plains history. Inside are the exhibits, and outside you will find reenactments of life in the local fort in the 1800s. The museum also takes you on a trip through outer space via a HubbleSpace exhibit, and your children are sure to love the Airplay exhibits. In 1901 a young Kansas woman registered for the Oklahoma land lottery—and won. She immediately subdivided her 160-acre allotment into space for affordable housing, a church, a school and a park. The Historic Mattie Beal Home was the house she kept for herself, and it is a beautifully restored mansion now open to visitors after a tumultuous history that brought it close to demolition.
You probably will indeed laugh out loud at the LOL Family Fun Center as you and your kids enjoy laser tag, games and prizes, large inflatable slides and a skating rink. Try the day pass for the best bargain. During WWII, Allied forces relied on Native Americans to communicate in a code the enemy could not break—their own languages. The Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center celebrates these “codetalkers” and you will hear recordings of their voices along with English translations. But that is only part of your experience of the “Comanche Way” as you learn about the early Lords of the Plains who eventually became confined to reservations in the 1800s. An interactive exhibit even allows you to participate in a Comanche buffalo hunt.
If you are visiting in the summertime, you are probably experiencing Oklahoma’s famous heat. Go cool off at the Comanche Nation Waterpark where you will have all the expected amenities—slides, tubes and splashing galore. It’s a relatively small park, lines are short and children under three get in for free.
Whether your interest is learning about the Plains Indians, playing laser tag with your kids, or digging deeper in local history, there is something here for you to enjoy in Lawton, OK. Book with Choice Hotels and start planning your adventure today!