Kansas Blog

Not too far off I-70 in Colby is the Prairie Museum of Art and History. Upon entering the museum we went first to the Kuska Exhibit, which houses the namesakes' personal collection of items including wedding dresses, military apparel, buttons, toys, glass and countless other memorabilia (I dare say everything but the kitchen sink!). At first glance it appears to be similar to any other historical museum I have been to but as I stepped foot into the first aisle, I discovered backlit vintage hodgepodge and before I knew what was happening, six legs were running everywhere and six hands were busy opening and touching this and that.

Standing in awe at the unique oil paintings in the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery in Lindsborg, I realized the Swedish-born artist's signature use of vivid colors and bold brushwork reminded me of a mural in the Belleville Post Office I'd seen as a child. Gallery Director Larry Griffiths said Sandzén painted murals in post offices in Halstead, Lindsborg and Belleville as part of the Works Progress Administration program in the 1930s. It's no wonder I have grown to love Sandzén's paintings, especially the larger pieces found in the gallery that bears his name.

I would compare visiting the El Quartelejo Museum in Scott City to time-traveling through Western Kansas. When we arrived at the museum, a replica of a pueblo style building, we were given a brief introduction of the exhibits from Dennie Siegrist, the facility manager. He started us off with the western interior seaway, which occupied this part of the country 100 million years ago. We passed through the Monument Rock display, showing the chalk pyramids attraction which is located just down the road from Scott City. 

The faces of three young boys from an orphan train peer out, their forlorn looks forever sculpted in brick on a busy street corner in Concordia. Having three sons, I ...

A Faces & Places Roadie BlogI’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase “Stop and smell the roses.” For my latest trip on the Faces & Places Tour, I did the Kansas version of that. I stopped and ...

Old Cowtown Museum sits in the middle of the state’s largest thoroughly modern city, but gives you the chance to walk back in time through a slice of our historic small-town beginnings.The ...

When I was a kid, I remember learning about the Brown vs. Board of Education desegregation case in school. It seemed like such an important part of our history, but when I discovered the full name of ...

Dorothy might not have been from Wamego, but the town has claimed her as its own. There you will find the Oz Museum. It has become a great place to visit for anyone with a love of the 1939 classic ...

My favorite moment on our family’s recent trip to the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center was standing outside a Plexiglas-walled room watching my 3-year-old paint his name. He still gets the “J” ...

Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure, west of Salina, is a unique combination of zoo and museum that gives you an up close and personal look at rare and endangered species. The facility started with one ...