TOPEKA (KSNT) - A museum made to remember the Sunflower State's history will soon reopen, with some new features.
The Kansas Museum of History has been closed to the public since September 2022 to undergo major renovations for the first time since it opened in 1984. KSNT 27 News spoke to Sarah Bell, Director of the Kansas Museum of History, who talked about how these renovations will not only preserve the state's history, but bring in modern aspects to enhance people's experiences.
A majority of the renovations will take place in the 23,000 square ft. exhibit gallery, with other upgrades to the lobby and the entrance.
"We've taken everything out, and we are redesigning all of the exhibits that are going back into the museum," Bell said. "We had somewhere around probably 2,500 to 3,000 artifacts in that were on display in the gallery. So, our staff took about six to eight months to get all of those artifacts carefully removed and stored temporarily in some places during our renovation... We did the demolition of all of the walls, we removed the flooring and got it essentially down to just a big black box."
Bell said the Kansas Historical Foundation raised $6 million in private donations to fully fund these renovations. She said this kind of generosity is a true display of the importance of preserving Kansas history.
"To me, it's a testament to the importance of history and preserving that history and ensuring that we are telling those stories for not just our current generation, but for future generations," Bell said, "...So I think it speaks to this campaign and for the donors who were so generous in their support that they see what we're doing here with the stories we are sharing and the stories are preserving, that it's really going to resonate with visitors through these updates we're making."
Some of the museum's iconic artifacts are coming back on display, like a 1950's wheat truck, to new pieces, like two Parker Carousel horses. The museum will also lean on the help of technology to let visitors dive deeper into the history of artifacts.
"We have artifacts and stories from every region of the state, from different time periods, from different communities and different groups of people, and so for example, with the story of Farming. Farming is something that just goes hand-in-hand with the Kansas identity. It is one of those timeless stories multi-generations that we are going to show stories of farming from across the state... When people, when a visitor, walks in to the museum, they will see themselves reflected in the story that we are sharing."
Bell told 27 News the museum is on track to open by mid-2025.
For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
