Barb Finnical

The Kansas Museum of History

While driving my daughter back from Colorado to Florida, we had a wonderful opportunity to stop in Topeka, Kansas to visit relatives. We were very excited to see their farm, horses and honeybees. However, they don’t yet live on the farm, as it’s just a piece of property without a home. That didn’t matter to me. This concrete jungle girl just loves stuff like that. I couldn’t wait to get there.

However the day we arrived met us with torrential rain. What are the chances that on the one day we visited, it poured so much that the mud would prevent us from our farm visit. Instead, Betsy and Jerry, the lovely hosts that they are, had something else planned-a trip to the Kansas Museum of History.

The exhibits weren’t just documents and plaques on a wall, but life-size models that brought the frontier back to life. Here Charlotte stands in front of a native dwelling.

I absolutely love history, but it really couldn’t compare with horses and honeybees. Sadly, I acquiesced. But I was really in for a surprise. The Kansas Museum of History is an amazing place on so many levels.

This looks like a painting, but this buffalo was a real stuffed big guy in a real prairie.
An old quilt made from all the counties in Kansas.
I never knew that there are so many kinds of barbed wire, and that they have patents too!
The “Admit Me Free” flag had to do with Kansas entered the union as a free state rather than a slave state.
A look into a prairie cabin. And I thought my house was small!
An cutout of an actual pioneer family. This really made it all real for me. I think for the era that they look pretty happy, despite how difficult life could have been for them.

Between the depth of history, the authenticness of the displays and the life-size models, this museum gets an A+ rating. It’s right along Route 70, so if you’re going anywhere near Topeka, I highly recommend it. They also have some hiking trails too, which we weren’t able to explore due to the weather.

The horses and honeybees will be there in the future. And so will sunny days. And while Kansas isn’t exactly close to home, I do hope to get back to see them. But if not, I’m left with the wonderful gift of having gone to the Kansas Museum of History. I’m really glad it rained that day!

Leave a Reply