AMELIA EARHART BIRTHPLACE MUSEUM

ATCHISON

The life of the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic took off from Atchison, where Amelia Earhart was born in a Gothic Revival-style cottage along the Missouri River. Take a tour through rooms packed with memorabilia, original furniture and stories about the family, including the tale of Earhart’s homemade “rolly coaster” that helped launch her love of flight. Scan QR codes around the home to hear audio clips providing other interesting anecdotes.

CARRY NATION HOME

MEDICINE LODGE

Kansas saloons routinely ignored an 1880 state constitutional amendment prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages. Temperance leader Carry Nation did not. She took it upon herself to enforce the law, famously smashing saloons with a hatchet. Nation’s home—now a National Historic Landmark along the Gypsum Hills Scenic Byway—displays that hatchet and other mementos, including her pump organ, writing desk and oak bed.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, MUSEUM, AND BOYHOOD HOME

ABILENE

A journey that started with a humble childhood in Abilene led Dwight D. Eisenhower to become a five-star Army general, commander of the World War II D-Day operation (history’s largest amphibious invasion), and president of the United States. Learn about “Ike” on a 22-acre campus that includes his burial site. Exhibits recall the lives of Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, through their words and images.

THE GORDON PARKS MUSEUM

FORT SCOTT

Born into poverty and segregation in Fort Scott, Gordon Parks taught himself how to use a camera and became the first African American photographer and writer for Life magazine. Parks was also the first African American to write and direct a major feature film, The Learning Tree, based on his autobiographical novel and shot in Fort Scott. The museum displays many of his powerful photographs, plus personal items from his groundbreaking career.

RED ROCKS STATE HISTORIC SITE

EMPORIA

William Allen White, longtime editor of The Emporia Gazette, won a Pulitzer Prize and a name for himself as the leading progressive voice of Middle America in the early 20th century. White wielded great political influence, frequently hosting powerful people at his home, Red Rocks. It’s now a historic site furnished with exhibits and items that tell the story of White’s professional and family life, including the bed presidents and dignitaries slept in.

ROBERT J. DOLE INSTITUTE OF POLITICS

LAWRENCE                        

Bob Dole served his country in World War II, then served Kansas in Congress for decades, becoming Senate majority leader and running for president. This space on the University of Kansas campus houses museum galleries and the Kansas Veterans Virtual Memory Wall, honoring veterans from WWII through today. Other stirring displays include a 29-foot stained-glass window of the American flag and two original beams from the World Trade Center.

Yellowstone star Mo Brings Plenty, a member of the Lakota Nation, resides on a Miami County ranch, loving life as an adopted Kansan.

Born and raised on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, Mo Brings Plenty hardly seemed destined for television stardom. And though series Yellowstone has become a hit, Brings Plenty has stayed humble—and stayed on his Kansas ranch, where he moved after meeting his wife, Sara Ann Haney-Brings Plenty. “The folks in the ranching and farming communities are truly amazing,” he says. “We don’t have neighbors—we have really good friends, and we all help each other out.”

Brings Plenty says he got into acting to help change the misrepresentation of American Indian people. Over the years, he’s portrayed many American Indian characters, plus worked as a stunt rider. He was about to quit the industry when Yellowstone came along, saying series creator Taylor Sheridan “has given me the space to be what I was created to be.” Brings Plenty’s character was nameless until fellow actor Gil Birmingham accidentally called Mo by his real name during a scene. 

The name stuck. And Brings Plenty remains stuck on Kansas. He volunteers for Operation Wildlife in Linwood and goes to fairs, rodeos and powwows—and recommends them all to first-time visitors, plus this: “They definitely have to get some barbecue.”