Summer exhibits near Wichita that are worth the road trip

Wichita-area museums have hosted a steady stream of traveling exhibits this year, giving us something new to experience and a prod to explore the attractions’ permanent displays and collections. There’s still a good chunk of summer vacation left, though, so if you’re looking for more art, history and culture to explore, fill up the gas tank and consider these regional temporary exhibits.

All of the following are currently open; we’ve listed them in order of closing date.

“Pulitzer Prize Photographs,” through July 14, Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa: You’ll have to get on the road soon to catch the most comprehensive collection of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs assembled. The Newseum in Washington D.C., curated this exhibit with images of every prize-winning entry dating back to 1942 (when the award was first presented), as well as interactive touch screens to access more than 1,000 images and 15 hours of video and audio compiled from interviews with photographers.

Also at the Gilcrease, you can see the “Bob Dylan: Face Value and Beyond” exhibit through Sept. 15. It includes 12 pastel portraits by the artist, best known as a singer-songwriter, as well as drawings, filmed performances, writings and personal effects.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; admission ranges from $5-$8 with ages 18 and younger free. More information at gilcrease.org.

“Prix de West Invitational Art Exhibition & Sale,” through Aug. 4, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City: The 47th annual edition of this exhibition and sale features more than 300 paintings and sculptures. Invited artists exhibit a range of styles, from historical pieces that reflect the early days of the West to contemporary and impressionistic works. Landscapes, wildlife art, and illustrative scenes are always highlighted in the exhibition.

The museum is open daily; admission ranges from $5.75-$12.50 with ages 5 and younger free. More information at nationalcowboymuseum.org.

“Leonardo Da Vinci: 500 Years of Genius,” through Aug. 25, Denver Museum of Nature & Science: Get inside the mind of Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the world’s greatest thinkers, at this high-tech experience that uses motion graphics, surround sound and authentic photography and video for an immersive experience called SENSORY4.

Leonardo died in 1519 and the few surviving artifacts of his legacy are in private collections or on permanent display in a small number of museums. Grande Exhibitions collaborated with Museo Leonardo da Vinci in Rome and other experts to build more than 70 of Leonardo’s machine inventions and create reproductions of his paintings and codices (books of notes and sketches that remain the primary insight to his genius).

In what is considered the most comprehensive exhibition about Leonardo, you can see an airplane and his other machine inventions, test a Leonardo-inspired catapult and study the details and secrets of his “Mona Lisa” painting through a 360-degree replica.

The museum is open daily; general admission ranges from $14.95-$19.95 and the Leonardo exhibit requires an additional timed ticket that ranges from $6-$9. More information at dmns.org.

“30 Americans,” through Aug. 25, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Mo.: This exhibit drawn from the Miami-based Rubell Family Collection has toured the country for a decade, though it is tailored to each community. In Kansas City, more than 80 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, photographs and videos offer perspectives on identity, history and political issues that have shaped contemporary American art and life. Among the exhibit’s 30 influential African American artists are Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley and Nick Cave.

The museum is open Wednesday through Monday; general admission is free and access to this exhibit requires a ticket ranging from $10-$18, ages 12 and younger free. More information at nelson-atkins.org.

“Jim Henson – Life and Legacy,” through at least the end of August, American Banjo Museum, Oklahoma City: Jim Henson’s affection for the banjo was evident in many of his creations, and this special exhibit curated by The Jim Henson Company explores the career of the Muppets creator.

Kermit the Frog is joined on display by original artwork, rare photographs, pop culture objects and the Muppets banjo. It is estimated to have been used for 7,000 recordings with stage and screen stars on “The Muppet Show.”

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; admission ranges from $6-$8 with ages 4 and younger free. More information at americanbanjomuseum.com.

“Dior: From Paris to the World,” through Sept. 1, Dallas Museum of Art: This exhibition debuted in November at the Denver Art Museum, and Dallas is the only other U.S. venue. It’s a retrospective on 70 years of the House of Dior’s legacy and global influence. More than 100 haute couture dresses are on display, along with accessories, photographs, original sketches, runway videos and other archival material. The Dallas exhibit also has new looks and updated works from founder Christian Dior and other Dior artistic directors.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; general admission is free and access to this exhibit requires a ticket ranging from $16-$25 with ages 11 and younger free. More information at dma.org.

“Megalodon: The Largest Shark that Ever Lived,” through Sept. 2, Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Hays: Real fossils and a life-size, walk-through model of the 60-foot-long megalodon shark are highlights of this traveling exhibit at the museum on the Fort Hays State University campus. In addition to learning about the life and death of this prehistoric ocean predator that went extinct between 2.6 and 3.6 million years ago, you’ll find full-size and scale models of other fossil and modern sharks along with hands-on components.

The museum is open daily; admission ranges from $6-$9 with ages 3 and younger free. More information at http://sternberg.fhsu.edu.

“Nature’s Nation: American Art and Environment,” through Sept. 9, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Ark.: One of two temporary summer exhibitions, “Nature’s Nation” highlights the connection between art and nature. There are 100 artworks from 70 eminent U.S. collections with installations by Thomas Moran, Frank Lloyd Wright and Dorothea Lange, among others.

Outdoor sculpture exhibit “Color Field” is in the museum’s North Forest through Sept. 30. It explores the impact of color on our lives with large, vibrant installations, including several that are interactive.

The museum is open Wednesday through Monday; general admission is free and access to these exhibits requires a ticket. Each exhibit is $12 or until Sept. 9 you can get a combo ticket for $16. More information at crystalbridges.org.

“Paul Gauguin: The Art of Invention,” through Sept. 15, Saint Louis Art Museum: See more than 90 paintings, wood carvings, ceramics, prints and writings that include pieces from the museum’s own collection and 55 works from the collection of Copenhagen’s Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek art museum. One unusual object on display is Gauguin’s manuscript, “Catholicism and the Modern Mind,” that was given to the Saint Louis Art Museum in 1948 by film star and St. Louis native Vincent Price.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; general admission is free and access to this exhibit requires a ticket ranging from $6-$15 with ages 5 and younger free. More information at slam.org.

“Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,” through Sept. 22, Oklahoma City Museum of Art: Philanthropist Paul Mellon’s gift of 19th and early 20th-century French art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts was heavily impressionist paintings but also included masterpieces from every important school of French art, from romanticism to cubism. This exhibit showcases that collection through more than 70 works by French and European masters presented in a series of sections. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; access to this special exhibit is by timed ticket and ranges from $12-$15 with ages 5 and younger free. More information at okcmoa.com.

“World of Wearable Art,” through Sept. 22, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College: The 32 garments presented in this exhibition represent some of the most provocative and unorthodox winners of the World of WearableArt, where fashion and art collide for New Zealand’s largest arts competition. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday; admission ranges from $5-$10 with students free. More information at csfineartscenter.org.

“Stonehenge: Ancient Mysteries and Modern Discoveries,” through Sept. 29, Union Station, Kansas City, Mo.: Discover the latest research on the who and how behind this prehistoric monument of standing stones in the south of England. The large-scale exhibition has six inner exhibit halls with 300 original artifacts, including 150 that have never traveled outside of Europe, along with 23 newly produced videos and hands-on displays for all ages.

Kansas City is the first to host this exhibit in North or South America. The Stonehenge exhibit is open Tuesday through Sunday; admission ranges from $14.95-$17.95. More information at unionstation.org/stonehenge.

“Expanding Oz,” through Nov. 2, Johnson County Museum, Overland Park: In celebration of the 80th anniversary of “The Wizard of Oz,” movie and in honor of the 100th anniversary of author L. Frank Baum’s death, the Johnson County Museum teamed with local collector Jane Albright to create this family-friendly exhibit. More than 200 items – from books to artwork, posters, games, toys, household goods, clothing and music – tell the story of the growth of the popularity of the Oz story.

The museum is open Monday through Saturday; admission ranges from $3-$5 with ages 1 and younger free. More information at jcprd.com/330/Museum.

“1919: Peace?” through March 1, 2020, National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, Mo.: After marking the 100th anniversary of the World War I armistice last year, the museum this year has a special exhibit showcasing how the war transformed the world after the Treaty of Versailles was signed June 28, 1919. Displays explore the legacy of unresolved issues and conflict around the world, from famine and disease to destruction of environments, religious persecution and civil wars.

The museum is open daily; admission ranges from $10-$18 with ages 5 and younger free. More information at theworldwar.org.

This story was originally published July 7, 2019 at 8:00 AM.