What are the opening hours?

Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm Friday 9:30am - 4:30pm Saturday 1:30pm - 4:30pm Sunday 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Kauffman Museum

Name: Kauffman Museum
Address: 2801 N Main Street, North Newton, KS, 67117, US
Telephone: (316) 283-1612
Price range: $

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Located in North Newton, Kansas, Kauffman Museum explores the story of Mennonites in the central Great Plains.

10/12/2026

Tomorrow is the deadline for registering for the 2026 Living Endowment Dinner!

There's lots of reasons to join us at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains on October 23 (beautiful scenery! mocktails! food catered by Water's Edge!) but by far the biggest reason is to engage with Dr. Janneken Smucker, professor of history at West Chester University, Pennsylvania.

As we were brainstorming who should speak at this year's dinner, Dr. Smucker was the natural choice. Her award-winning scholarships on quilts, quiltmaking and quilters is a perfect compliment to our current special exhibit, "Piece / Work: The Art of Mary Lou Goertzen."

Dr. Smucker will be speaking about New Deal programs that engaged quiltmakers during the Great Depression. Her award-winning book, "A New Deal for Quilts," was accompanied by an exhibit at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.

If you want to join us on October 23, be sure to register by end of day tomorrow. For more, visit us here:

https://kauffmanmuseum.org/event/living-endowment-dinner-2026-quilts-in-the-great-depression-and-new-deal-dr-janneken-smucker-west-chester-university-pennsylvania/

See you at the Arboretum!

09/28/2026

Thanks, Kansas Travel!

09/25/2026

Spend a little time this Friday enjoying an entry chronicling Faith Peterson's micro-exhibit, "Building Bethel: Before, Between, and Beyond." Here's Faith on a building with a direct Kauffman Museum connection:

History is a family affair, and nothing proves that better than the house at 206 E 25th St.

Amos E. and Stella (Shoemaker) Kreider came to North Newton in 1935, moving into the house at 206 E 25th St. Amos was a Professor of Bible and the first Director of Religious Life at Bethel College.

Amos’s descendants continued the family’s close association with Bethel College. Amos’s son Robert S. Kreider became a Professor of Peace Studies at the college, and curated the Martyr’s Mirror exhibit at Kauffman Museum.

Amos’s grandson David spent most of his career in various roles at Kauffman Museum. When David moved back to Newton in 2000, he first lived at 206 E 25th St, the same house his grandparents had moved into almost sixty years before.

09/22/2026

When it comes to cookbooks, no single volume has made a wider impact in the Mennonite community and beyond than More-with-Less: A World Community Cookbook. We've got copies of the 50th anniversary edition available for purchase at the Kauffman Museum Store. Stop by and grab yours today!

What's your favorite More-with-Less recipe?

09/18/2026

In anticipation of summer intern Faith Peterson's presentation at KM this Sunday immediately following the Kauffman Museum Association's 3 p.m. annual meeting, here's another entry from her "Building Bethel: Before, Between and Beyond" exhibit, on view now in the upper section of the Mantz Library Lounge. This post's focus: the Bethel College Science Hall, now known as Will Academic Center.

Here's Faith:

2710 College Ave – The Bethel College Science Building / Will Academic Center

Bethel College has always placed value in setting students up for success in a constantly changing world and workplace.

In the early 1900s, the college found itself unable to maintain this philosophy, due to its woefully inadequate laboratory facilities. In response, the Science Building was erected in 1924. The fundraising campaign was an unprecedented success, allowing the college to decrease its deficit even in the middle of construction.

The building gained further facilities over the years. In 1927, the college’s museum collection was moved to the Science Building basement. By 1933, the building also included laboratories for home economics, industrial arts, and even a print shop.

The building continues to transform for new purposes. Renamed the Will Academic Center, the building now houses humanities classes, professor’s offices, and the Center for Academic Development. A back addition was built in 2012 to further increase the facilities of this old Science Building.

For more on this building and others, and the one-of-a-kind collection of miniatures that accompany this exhibit, join us at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 20.

We hope to see you at the museum!

09/04/2026

The first of our posts from summer intern Faith Peterson on the buildings of Bethel focuses on the most iconic one: the Ad Building.

Here's Faith on the "castle dedicated to learning":

220 E 27th St – The Bethel College Administration Building

The Administration Building is the cornerstone of Bethel College; the Administration Building’s cornerstone was set on October 12, 1888.

However, funds soon depleted and the building was left unfinished, earning the name “ein Denkmal echt Mennonitischer Dummheit” – a monument to real Mennonite stupidity. After a few years of fundraising, construction resumed and the building was completed in 1893.

Since that point, the building has housed offices, classrooms, living quarters, and more. Before the construction of the library in 1948 (now the Mennonite Library and Archives), the college library resided in the Administration Building’s basement, and the college chapel continues to be located on the second floor.

The Administration Building is emblematic of Bethel College, representing the value that the college places in its history.

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Check out the mini exhibit put together by Faith, “Building Bethel: Before, Between, and Beyond," on display now in the display case outside the interior entrance to Mantz Library!

Address

2801 N Main Street
North Newton, KS
67117

Opening Hours

Tuesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Friday	9:30am - 4:30pm
Saturday	1:30pm - 4:30pm
Sunday	1:30pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

(316) 283-1612

Website

http://kauffmanmuseum.org/

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