Kansas Museum of History

05/28/2026

Join us on June 12 for Museum After Hours. This month will feature a panel of area journalists discussing the challenges they face today. The museum will be open during this time from 5-8 p.m. and admission will be free. The program starts at 6:30. This presentation will be offered in a hybrid format with options to livestream it on the KSHS YouTube channel or attend in-person at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.

05/11/2026

The historical society will display the Bible as a featured artifact at its Charles Curtis House at 1101 SW Topeka Blvd. once that opens to the public. See link below ⬇️

📸 Provided by Gentry Heimerman

05/08/2026

Join us tonight for Museum After Hours! "An Artist's Perspective" presented by renowned Kansas artists Stan Herd will talk about his creative process, artistic journey, and unique perspective on Kansas landscapes and culture. Don’t miss out on this special evening of art, conversation, and after-hours museum exploration. The program is from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Kansas Museum of History. For more information, go to www.kansashistory.gov/21215

05/05/2026

Mark your calendars for Museum After Hours this Friday. Stan Herd is a world-renowned artist known for his impressive crop art and striking murals. Stan is also a proud Kansan who grew up in Protection, Kansas, and has kept his roots planted in his home state. When the Kansas Museum of History opened in the 1980s, Stan painted a mural as the backdrop to the museum’s 1880 steam locomotive engine. When the museum closed in 2022 for a three-year renovation of its permanent exhibit gallery, Stan agreed to paint a second mural for the museum, this one featuring vignettes and images from 1960s and 1970s Kansas. Stan will talk about some of the highlights of his career and why continuing to be rooted in Kansas is so important to him and his artist’s identity. Program attendees will also get to walk into the museum gallery and learn more about Stan’s new mural, in addition to viewing some recent art acquisitions to the museum collection. The museum will be open during this time and admission will be free. The program starts at 6:30. Light refreshments will be served. This presentation can be livestreamed on the KSHS YouTube channel, or you can attend in-person at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.

04/22/2026

04/10/2026

Join us tonight for Museum After Hours! Katie Keckeisen, local history librarian at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, will present "Life in Kansas During the Dust Bowl" through eyewitness accounts and photographs. Light refreshments will be served. The museum will be open during this time and admission will be free. This presentation will be offered in a hybrid format, with options to view it on Zoom, livestream it on the KSHS YouTube channel, or attend in-person at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka - https://bit.ly/4tEEnXg
6:30-8 p.m.

03/13/2026

Join us tonight for Museum After Hours! After fifty plus stories for National Geographic Jim Richardson mastered the drill pretty well — besides knowing where the skeletons were buried. From writing the story proposals that began each coverage to the legendary wall walks where covens of editors lurked hoping to poke holes in photographic coverages (and by so doing gain pages for their own projects) Jim will dish the dirt as well as offering some actual serious observations. No other publication lavished so much money and resources on photography as National Geographic. (And photographers knew their career there could survive one mediocre story, but not two.) Here’s what it took to survive a National Geographic for 35 years. The museum will be open during this time and admission will be free. This presentation will be offered in a hybrid format, with options to view it on Zoom - https://bit.ly/4suvmiM, or livestream it on the KSHS YouTube channel - https://bit.ly/4cZ0hQ7, or attend in-person at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.

03/12/2026

Come join us Friday night for Museum After Hours! After fifty plus stories for National Geographic Jim Richardson mastered the drill pretty well — besides knowing where the skeletons were buried. From writing the story proposals that began each coverage to the legendary wall walks where covens of editors lurked hoping to poke holes in photographic coverages (and by so doing gain pages for their own projects) Jim will dish the dirt as well as offering some actual serious observations. No other publication lavished so much money and resources on photography as National Geographic. (And photographers knew their career there could survive one mediocre story, but not two.) Here’s what it took to survive a National Geographic for 35 years. The museum will be open during this time and admission will be free. This presentation will be offered in a hybrid format, with options to view it on Zoom - https://bit.ly/4suvmiM, or livestream it on the KSHS YouTube channel - https://bit.ly/4cZ0hQ7, or attend in-person at the Kansas Museum of History in Topeka.

02/19/2026

In preparation for the reopening of the Kansas Museum of History, museum staff traveled across Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma to gather oral histories from eight Indigenous people representing multiple tribal nations. This video series allows viewers to learn about the history and lived experiences of Native Americans directly from those who know the cultures best. To kick off the series, Jim Pepper Henry of the Kaw Nation discusses the ancestral homeland of the Kaw, the Kaáⁿze language, and the future of the tribe. Once at risk of being lost, the Kaáⁿze language has been rebuilt through immense dedication and community effort. Stay tuned for a new episode every week!

02/13/2026

Join us tonight for an exciting Museum After Hours program! Zach Lawless, Hyer Boots CEO, will be sharing the story of the company’s origins in the 1800s and the brand’s revitalization in the 21st century. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. and is free to attend. Light refreshments will be provided.

Register for the in-person program here - https://bit.ly/4aoSp8B

You can also watch live on Zoom or YouTube - https://bit.ly/4rrtsis

Admission to the Kansas Museum of History will be free 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to accompany the program.