Kansas City’s own fountain of youth is The Children’s Fountain which was dedicated in June 21, 1995 and also one of the largest. The idea was developed in the early nineties to celebrate the children of Kansas. It was situated at Anita Gorman Park which is north of the Missouri River in an area known as North Kansas City. The piece of land selected for the fountain is triangular in shape and visible from roads to the east and west.

This $2 million fountain features six bronze sculptures of children playing in the water. The children are on pedestals that are each increasingly higher than the one before it so that water shooting up from nearby jets overlaps them. They are suspended over a giant oval water basin measuring 60 feet by 100 feet. It has 12 water sprays and pumps 8,000 gallons of water a minute through its 100 horsepower pump.

Local sculptor, Tom Corbin, used local children as models. The girl who is shown frolicking on the highest pedestal is Joy. Second is the boy positioned with his crutches outstretched which is called “Meeting Challenges” and also shown balancing in one leg. Next is a ballerina girl posing, followed by a boy playing soccer and a boy standing on his hands. Lastly, there’s a girl with pigtails wading in the water.

It is similarly designed with bubbling streams of water intended to suit the playful, childlike mood set by the fountain. The concrete plaza that surrounds the water fountain contains a number of brick paving blocks which indicate the donors of the fountain’s construction.

The fountain’s engineering design was made by the Larkin Engineers which is very unique since it can be operated even during the freezing months of winter.