New displays,
educational programs and exciting tours make a trip to the museum a great experience for all ages and interests. Want a tour or program? Contact Nona Miller, Education Coordinator, for more information about what is available. We’re here to help!
Kansas Days
During the week of January 23-27 third graders from area schools will visit the Museum for hands-on activities – 1860s style. Students will try their hands at churning butter, shelling corn, playing pioneer games and packing their wagon for the long trip west. If you’d like more information, call Nona at 785-309-5776 or e-mail nona.miller@salina.org.
Happy, Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday!
Kansas has a birthday coming up and we intend to celebrate. Bring the whole family to the free Smoky Hill Museum Public Kansas Day on January 28, from 1:00-3:00 p.m.
Try your hand at a few activities pioneers would have done like churning butter or shelling corn. Learn how brooms were made at Salina’s own broom factory and how rag rugs were, and still are, made. Enjoy a make and take craft and the delicious birthday cake. Everything’s free, at the Kansas Day open house.
February
How much did Kansas Really Bleed?
Kansas and the Civil War in American History and Memory
It was known as bleeding Kansas … but did it? Join Dr. Brian Craig Miller as he takes a closer look at events that happened in Kansas leading up to the Civil War. He’ll discuss the history we thought we knew, from changing constitutions to John Brown and border wars. Learn how the Civil War helped to shape the state and why Kansas’ struggles have been largely ignored in American history. Dr. Miller teaches history at Emporia State University.
This free presentation is offered at the Smoky Hill Museum, Thursday, February 2, 5:30-6:30 pm
March
Langston Hughes, Aaron Douglas, Oscar Micheaux, Gordon Parks, Gwendolyn Brooks, Frank Marshall Davis and more. These leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance shared a connection - Kansas. How did a farm state in the middle of the country with a fairly small African American population pack so much punch in twentieth-century arts? Marty Keenan will discuss this question, as well as how Kansas affected these talented individuals' stories, their motivation and their worldview. Keenan is an attorney and founder of the biennial "Oscar Micheaux Memorial Celebration."
This free presentation is offered at the Smoky Hill Museum, Thursday, March 1, 5:30-6:30 pm
The Hunt is on!!
Next time you’re at the Museum stop at the front desk and ask about our scavenger hunts. We have them for all types of kids, beginning to advanced (including some hunts grown up kids might enjoy).
The new Education Lending Library is open for business! Learn about cattle trails, Kansas oceans, the Maya calendar and more! These engaging and educational presentations on DVD will enhance many classroom lessons whether shown in part or in whole. All presentations are available to educational entities and some are available to other public groups.
Important information:
Presentations may be checked out for one month with an opportunity for an extension if necessary.
An educational entity is any type of school, from a home school to a university classroom. The presentations shown to educational entities must be shown for educational purposes.
Videos may not be copied in any way.
To use this free service, call the Smoky Hill Museum at 785-309-5776 and ask for Nona Miller, Education Coordinator.
Click on a title below to learn more about the presentation, and be sure to visit again as more will be added.
Kansas Train Tales by Kansas author Robert Collins
Oceans of Kansas by Mike Everhart, Adjunct Paleontologist at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History
The Two Greatest Cattle Trails by Dennis Garstang, member of the Wild West History Association.
Understanding the Maya and the 2012 Apocalypse: Fact or Fiction? By Dr. Heather McCrea, Assistant Professor of History at Kansas State University
Many thanks to the Kansas Wesleyan University Department of Communication Studies & Theatre Arts for filming these presentations.