12 museum exhibitions worth a summer road trip from Wichita

Some people are calling 2021 the year of Vincent Van Gogh. More than 30 traveling Van Gogh immersive exhibitions have popped up around the country organized by at least five different companies. The closest to Wichita are two experiences in Kansas City scheduled for late fall/winter, though Dallas has several operating this summer if you can’t wait to “Gogh.”

But there’s more than Van Gogh to experience this summer. We found an assortment of art, history, science and culture exhibitions as many museums mount their return to a “normal summer.” Here are 12 shouldn’t-miss exhibitions in the region, all are on display now unless a future opening date is specified.

Keep in mind that with museum reopenings in various stages, you should check attraction websites for the latest operating hours and visitor requirements. Pent up demand is creating sold out situations, so be sure to buy tickets in advance of traveling.

“War Remains” on exhibit indefinitely, National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, Mo.: The museum is the new permanent home of an immersive virtual reality experience that puts viewers in the trenches during an active World War I battle. Podcaster Dan Carlin leads the thought-provoking “War Remains” experience, a solitary journey with one guest going through approximately every 15 minutes.

Tickets (theworldwar.org) are $24 and you must be 14 or older. The experience opened May 27 and is sold out through early July. A separate ticket ($10-$18 and free for ages 5 and younger) is required if you want to explore the museum, which is open daily through Labor Day.

“Sinews of Peace and the Power of Prose” opening July 31 and on exhibit indefinitely, America’s National Churchill Museum, Fulton, Mo.: This museum on the campus of Westminster College in central Missouri took the pandemic to offer online-only content while accelerating its $3.1 million preservation, renovation and update project. The museum is scheduled to reopen July 31 and will have a special exhibition in place to commemorate the 75th anniversary of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech — officially titled “The Sinews of Peace” — that happened on the campus in March 1946.

Among the photographs, rare audio and video clips and other artifacts on display as part of the “Sinews of Peace and the Power of Prose” exhibition will be all 50 pages of a typewritten draft with handwritten corrections for what became his most famous post-war speech. The museum also is expected to reopen with a display of several significant acquisitions that have yet to be announced. Admission ranges from $6.50-$12; free for ages 11 and younger (nationalchurchillmuseum.org).

“Paris to Hollywood: The Fashion and Influence of Véronique and Gregory Peck” through July 18, Denver Art Museum: The daughter of one of Hollywood’s most beloved couples gifted the museum 20 of her mother’s iconic looks for their permanent collection. Those are among 100 ensembles by 17 different couturiers and designers from around the world in this exhibition that provides an overview of how fashion changed as the roles of women in society evolved in the 20th century. Beyond the wardrobe, there are fashion sketches, photographs, film clips and more items being displayed for the first time. Also at the museum this summer: the first U.S. solo museum exhibition for South African contemporary artist Simphiwe Ndzube. “Oracles of the Pink Universe,” is open now and runs through Sept. 12 and the immersive installation “Memory Mirror” opens July 4 and continues through March 5, 2023.

The museum is open daily; admission ranges from $10-$13 with ages 18 and younger free (denverartmuseum.org).

“Sherlock Holmes - The Exhibition” and “The Worst-Case Scenario: An Ultimate Survival Experience,” through Sept. 6, Science Museum Oklahoma, Oklahoma City: When museums closed during the pandemic, these two large-scale national traveling exhibitions didn’t have a museum able to take them in. Science Museum Oklahoma had the space to store them and then worked out a deal to stage them together for one ticket price. There’s a $9.95 ticket in addition to general admission for the museum, which ranges $13.95-$16.95 and is free for ages 2 and younger (sciencemuseumok.org). Both are interactive experiences, using forensic science to help Holmes solve a crime and tackling unlikely real-life scenarios in the other exhibit.

“The Science of Guinness World Records,” through Sept. 6, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas: This exhibition is your chance to see if you have what it takes to set a Guinness World Record. You’ll get behind-the-scenes information from those who hold records, then you can try it yourself, from the largest Pac-Man videogame to reaction competitions, speed drumming and a dance-a-thon.

The museum is open daily through the summer. Buy tickets at perotmuseum.org. General admission is $13-$20 and the Guinness exhibit carries an extra ticket charge, $6-$8 and free for children under 2.

“James Cameron – Challenging the Deep,” through Sept. 12, The Durham Museum, Omaha, Neb.: This is the North American premiere of an exhibition centered on explorer and filmmaker James Cameron, whose passion for deep ocean science, technology and exploration blended with his filmmaking career on movies “The Abyss” and “Titanic.” You’ll experience what feels like an underwater environment while learning about Cameron’s record-breaking dive in the Deepsea Challenger, the submersible he co-designed and engineered, and the technologies he has pioneered. The museum (durhammuseum.org) is open daily inside Omaha’s Union Station; admission is $7-$11 and free for ages 2 and younger.

“Crystal Bridges at 10” July 11 through Sept. 27, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Ark.: Crystal Bridges is celebrating 10 years and more than five million visitors with this exhibition of 10 distinct art experiences. The exhibition features 130-plus pieces — mostly from the permanent collection — and immersive experiences. Crystal Bridges is open Wednesday through Monday, and general admission is free though access to “Crystal Bridges at 10” is $12 for adults, free for veterans and ages 18 and younger. See crystalbridges.org for additional summer exhibits — and don’t miss exploring the indoor and outdoor installations at the museum’s contemporary art satellite space, The Momentary.

“The Painters of Pompeii,” June 26 through Oct. 7, Oklahoma City Museum of Art: This is the lone stop in the U.S. for this selection of more than 80 ancient Roman artifacts and artworks from the National Archaeological Museum, Naples. The exhibition centerpiece is 70 richly colored wall paintings, or frescoes, preserved by the Mount Vesuvius eruption and unearthed beginning in the 1700s. The collection is considered one of only two large bodies of ancient painting to survive to modern day. The OKCMOA is open Tuesday through Sunday; access to this special exhibit is by timed ticket ($10-$16, ages 17 and younger and military are free). Get tickets at okcmoa.com.

“Dali’s Alice in Wonderland,” through Oct. 17, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa: See Salvador Dalí’s surrealist take on Lewis Carroll’s 1865 children’s tale “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” You’ll see the artist’s 1969 work, an illustration for each of the twelve chapters of the book, a frontispiece and a bronze sculpture of Alice

The museum – the former home of oil pioneer Waite Phillips and wife Genevieve – and the adjoining 25-acre gardens are open Wednesday through Sunday. Timed entry required; get advance tickets ($12, 17 and under free) at philbrook.org.

Two other exhibits on display through Sept. 5: “From the Limitations of Now,” featuring a range of mediums, and “Views of Greenwood,” a collection of photographs taken over the past 50 years by Oklahoma photographers of the Greenwood District that was nearly destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Art Course through Oct. 24, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City: Enjoy art combined with miniature golf at this themed course on the museum’s south lawn within the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park. The nine holes each highlight a masterpiece that is on display inside the Nelson-Atkins and organizers encourage you to follow a round with a visit inside.

Art Course opened in 2019 and there is one new hole this year: “Eyy Putter Putter” based on Radcliffe Bailey’s “Mound Magician” in the museum’s contemporary galleries. The baseball-themed hole honors the 100th anniversary of the founding of baseball’s Negro Leagues.

Art Course is open during regular museum hours this summer and after Sept. 7 it is available weekends only. Tickets are $10-$16 and are limited; purchase online in advance at nelson-atkins.org

Admission to the museum is free, however timed tickets are required and available online. Be sure to schedule your visit with time to explore the summer special exhibits, including “Monet Water Lilies: From Dawn to Dusk,” a 10-minute light and sound program that emulates the rise and fall of daylight on a Claude Monet water lilies painting; “Testimony: African American Artists Collective” (through March 27); “Castles, Cottages, and Crime” (July 10-March 27) and “Origins: Collecting to Create the Nelson-Atkins” (Aug. 14-March 27).

“Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away.” through January, Union Station, Kansas City: Kansas City is the final stop for the most comprehensive Holocaust exhibition to be staged in North America. There are 20 thematic galleries with more than 700 original artifacts and 400 photographs, some on public display for the first time. The exhibit is open daily inside Union Station; admission ranges from $15-$23.50.