Johnson County Museum

Johnson County Museum Admission: $6/adult $5/senior $4/child. Social media policy: https://www.jcprd.com/252
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Today is our quarterly Free Day! All of our exhibits -- Becoming Johnson County, Everyday Democracy, and KidScape -- are...
03/19/2026

Today is our quarterly Free Day! All of our exhibits -- Becoming Johnson County, Everyday Democracy, and KidScape -- are free. KidScape has hourly limited admission but the exhibits are open to explore. Plan your trip at https://jcprd.com/1836/Museum!

It is Women’s History Month, and – the county’s flag was designed by Shelly Moore, a high school at Shawnee Mission No...
03/16/2026

It is Women’s History Month, and – the county’s flag was designed by Shelly Moore, a high school at Shawnee Mission North? It is true!

In 1972 to help create cohesion across its 19 separate municipalities, the county launched a flag design competition. According to newspapers articles from the time, the winning entry would “express positive thoughts through one bold graphic statement.” Shelly Moore, at the time a senior at Shawnee Mission North, submitted the winning design, which hangs framed in the “Everyday Democracy” exhibit. The flag was adopted in February 1973 at the ribbon cutting of the eight-story addition to the county courthouse (since demolished). Although replaced in 2015 with the current county flag, this flag design was one of the first symbols that connected the larger JoCo community in the postwar era.

Come visit the “Everyday Democracy” exhibit to learn more, and to design your own county flag! You can see a few community-designed flag designs here on our magnet board. Plan your visit at JCPRD.com/Museum.

Learn about one of Johnson County's earliest celebrities in this great write up!
03/15/2026

Learn about one of Johnson County's earliest celebrities in this great write up!

Our Friday deep dive into the content from the new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy,” highlights Women’s History Mon...
03/13/2026

Our Friday deep dive into the content from the new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy,” highlights Women’s History Month! Let’s dive in.

Kansas women began voting in state elections in 1912, a full eight years before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed women’s right to vote nationally. Leaders like Governor George Hodges, an Olathe native, encouraged women to be active voters and political participants, saying, “You will be derelict in your duty as voters if you do not help to write party platforms and represent your ideals.”

Even before securing the vote, women in Johnson County sought improvement, education, and advancement through other avenues. Women’s clubs, church groups, and community organizations flourished, shaping civic life. Here are three examples from Olathe:

1 The Sigournean Club – dedicated to “mutual improvement and enlarging our general knowledge,” members – in just one year – studied literature, philanthropy, history, sociology, archaeology, zoology, anthropology, psychology, astronomy, hygiene, and drama.

2 Young Women’s Culture Class – their motto was “Be what you are, become what you can.”

3 Delphi Club – a women’s literary and service organization which has survived through modern times.

Images here include a Sigournean Club program cover; a Culture Club program cover; a photo of the Culture Club Octette; and the title page from a Delphi Club program. You can see more about these women’s organizations on display in the “Everyday Democracy” exhibit. Learn more and plan your visit at JCPRD.com/Museum!

We want to highlight an incredible exhibit hosted by our friends at the National WWI Museum and Memorial that gives you ...
03/12/2026

We want to highlight an incredible exhibit hosted by our friends at the National WWI Museum and Memorial that gives you an opportunity to see some of the nation's founding documents from the US National Archives! Check out the original post, below, for details and how to plan your visit there - but hurry, the Freedom Plane documents are only in KC for a short time!

And once you've seen democracy's founding documents, come and view our new special exhibit, "Everyday Democracy" to see how Johnson Countians have lived out the founding ideals of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness over time! Plan your visit at: JCPRD.com/Museum

Last Thursday, the Museum’s Collections Committee met to review potential donations. These quarterly meetings are always...
03/10/2026

Last Thursday, the Museum’s Collections Committee met to review potential donations. These quarterly meetings are always fun and interesting!

Items accepted into the collections included materials related to Shawnee Mission South student activities from the 1970s, research materials from the 1830 Shawnee Mill Site near De Soto, milk bottle toppers from the Brookside Dairy in Olathe, and a hand-painted Christmas themed Velvet Crème Popcorn tin, among many other things.

The largest collection of items the committee accepted is from The Prairie Schooler, a Johnson County-based cross stitch and needlepoint patterns company that was in business for almost 33 years. The materials include a full set of their annual Christmas Santa patterns, among the company’s most popular designs!

Now that the items have been accepted into the Museum’s permanent collections, staff will research the items, photograph them and complete condition reports, and enter them into the Museum’s collections database. This assigns each item a unique inventory number. The items will then be ready for access by researchers (including our own staff), exhibition, and will be stored in preservation materials.

The Collections Committee is comprised of Museum staff and an outside museum-field professional who can help provide perspective. The committee meets quarterly to review the items that our curator of collections has tentatively approved for addition to the permanent collections. The Museum collections based on its Collecting Plan. The major components of that plan are available to review at https://jcprd.com/756/Donate-to-the-Collection

Learn on your lunch! The Museum’s next free program is at noon this Thursday March 12. Bring your bag lunch and hear abo...
03/09/2026

Learn on your lunch! The Museum’s next free program is at noon this Thursday March 12. Bring your bag lunch and hear about Kansas’ founding documents from a Kansas expert! This program is free and complements the Museum’s new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Johnson County.” Separate admission is required for the exhibition.

Register here for the “We, The People of Kansas” program and learn more, below:

https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/jcprd/activity/search/detail/45485?onlineSiteId=0&locale=en-US&from_original_cui=true

“We, The People of Kansas…” The Story of Kansas’ Founding Documents, 1820-2020 is offered by Virgil Dean, past editor of Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains for more than 20 years. From the 1859 Wyandotte Constitution to other key documents that shaped Kansas over more than 160 years, this free program will explore the rights of Kansans, how elections work, and even how counties and townships take shape.

The program is offered through the Humanities Kansas Speakers Bureau and “21st Century Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community discussions and learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. “21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

With the wet weather, KidScape is full this morning! Plan your visit for this afternoon or tomorrow by going to JCPRD.co...
03/06/2026

With the wet weather, KidScape is full this morning! Plan your visit for this afternoon or tomorrow by going to JCPRD.com/Museum.

The Johnson County Museum’s new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Joh...
03/06/2026

The Johnson County Museum’s new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Johnson County” explores how those lofty founding ideals have been embraced, expanded, contested, and at times, denied. The exhibit shares stories that are both inspiring and sobering – moments when Johnson Countians upheld democratic ideals, and moments when we fell short. Here are five episodes featured in the exhibit:

https://jocohistory.wordpress.com/2026/03/02/everyday-democracy-how-johnson-county-has-lived-and-tested-americas-founding-ideals/

*Photo shows a WPA camp near Gardner Lake, courtesy Olathe Public Library.

Did you know? Today is the only day of the year that is a command: March Forth!So march down to the Johnson County Museu...
03/04/2026

Did you know? Today is the only day of the year that is a command: March Forth!

So march down to the Johnson County Museum and explore our new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Johnson County” today! In it, you will find more information about Harry King, Jr., pictured here in his World War I U.S. Army uniform, what special thing he carried off to war with him and what object he later donated to the Museum!

Plan your visit at JCPRD.com/Museum

Learn on your lunch! The Museum’s next program is at noon on Thursday March 12. Bring your bag lunch and hear about Kans...
03/03/2026

Learn on your lunch! The Museum’s next program is at noon on Thursday March 12. Bring your bag lunch and hear about Kansas’ founding documents from a Kansas expert! This program is free and complements the Museum’s new special exhibit, “Everyday Democracy: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness in Johnson County.” Separate admission is required for the exhibition.

Register here for the “We, The People of Kansas” program and learn more, below:

https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/jcprd/activity/search/detail/45485?onlineSiteId=0&locale=en-US&from_original_cui=true

“We, The People of Kansas…” The Story of Kansas’ Founding Documents, 1820-2020 is offered by Virgil Dean, past editor of Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains for more than 20 years. From the 1859 Wyandotte Constitution to other key documents that shaped Kansas over more than 160 years, this free program will explore the rights of Kansans, how elections work, and even how counties and townships take shape.

The program is offered through the Humanities Kansas Speakers Bureau and “21st Century Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community discussions and learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. “21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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8788 Metcalf Ave
Overland Park, KS
66212

Opening Hours

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

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Featuring award-winning long-term and changing exhibitions as well as public and school education programs, the Museum is a great place to spend the day learning about our county’s history and having fun in our hands-on exhibit spaces. Johnson County does not endorse or maintain any affiliation with followers, fans, or subscribers of this site.