Lowell D Holmes Museum of Anthropology

06/16/2026

The Asmat masks are safely in their new storage space. The Asmat people of southwest New Guinea create and use elaborate woven masks for ritual feasts that celebrate the passage of the recently deceased from the world of the living to the ancestral realm known as “Safan”.

06/11/2026

Setting up a new storage space is no easy task especially when the artifacts are large, heavy and awkwardly shaped. My rock star student staff have been amazing at helping navigate this process.

05/31/2026

If you’re looking for an opportunity to gain some museum experience, the Andover Historical Museum is looking for volunteers.

We need volunteers to help at the Museum. We currently get together every Wednesday afternoon, and the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of every month. Our Museum meetings are held once a month on the third Monday evening starting at 6:30pm.

It's a relaxed environment, and we always have fun together discovering our local history and getting organized. Currently there are only two of us that can get together each time, but we have a few additional ladies who participate when time allows. Our goal for this summer is to start packing up all the archives to be prepared for the start of the renovation. This year has been a lot of work for a small group, and we are asking the community for help. This is a community project, and we hope there are more people who can come help us accomplish this great tribute to Andover.

If you have any extra time, we could really use some help this summer. Once the renovation is completed we will need Volunteers to help us rebuild new exhibits. If you are curious, or have good memories of Andover, please stop by and see the vision boards. We need your input to make these exhibits the best they can be!

Just show up! No appointment needed!

05/14/2026

The museum staff, along with help from professional movers, are moving the Asmat collection and getting it set up in the new space in the library.

05/11/2026

We are starting to move collections to the basement storage area today. Who knew crocodile wrangling was part of the job!
*This is not the actual storage space but more of a holding area.

05/08/2026

Construction is moving along!

05/01/2026

Happy May Day!

This photo is of a May Day Celebration at Fairmount College in 1929.

Photo is Courtesy of Wichita State University Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives. Wichita State University Libraries

04/30/2026

Some items are too large and awkward to fit into boxes for moving. Thankfully Dr. Alvarado has been kind enough to let us use his lab space as a temporary holding space for some of the oversized objects.

04/28/2026

Good News!!! The Exhibit "Service Beyond Barriers" will be on display at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum until August 30th. When you visit, please take time to look through the whole museum. It's a wonderful collection of artifacts that tell the story of Wichita and Sedgwick County.

04/25/2026

It was a beautiful evening and wonderful crowd for the Museum Exhibition class exhibit opening at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. Thank you to Jami Frazier Tracy and the staff at the WSCHM and Brittany Beck from TKAAM - The Kansas African American Museum for helping to make this exhibit a success.