Kansas Museum of History


The Kansas Museum of History is the state historical museum in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It presents Kansas history from the prehistoric to modern eras in of exhibits. The galleries feature a train, full-sized tipi in the Southern Cheyenne style, a 1950s diner, and many other large features. Major topics covered in the main gallery include Native American tribal history, westward movement on the Oregon and Santa Fe trails, early settlers, the Bleeding Kansas and Civil War eras, and Populism at the turn of the 20th century.

History

The museum is a division of the Kansas Historical Society, which was founded in 1875 by Kansas newspaper editors and publishers. Its first home was in the Kansas State Capitol.
The current museum building was built in 1980s to house the Society's object collections and exhibits. Dubbed the Kansas Museum of History, it opened in 1984 at an site in west Topeka near the historic Potawatomi Mission. In addition to galleries, the building also houses a museum store, classrooms, and labs for conservation and exhibit fabrication.
In the mid-1990s, the rest of the Society's divisions moved to the new Center for Historical Research adjacent to the museum. Today the complex includes nature trails, an education and conference center, and a historic one-room school used for educational programs.
The museum's most popular programs include its changing exhibits schedule, the Cool Things section of the website, and the related Cool Things podcasts.

Gallery

The museum gallery sections are grouped by chronological order:
Important exhibited objects include:
The museum also holds one of the United States' largest collections of Civil War flags from African American regiments. At least one of these flags is always on display in the main gallery.

Hours

The museum hours are:
The Kansas Museum of History's main gallery and changing exhibits have won numerous Awards of Merit, the highest honor bestowed by the American Association for State and Local History. The museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.