Some Wichita attractions offering free admission for Smithsonian Museum Day
Twenty-five museums and historical sites in Kansas, including eight in Sedgwick County, will be offering free admission Saturday in conjuction with Smithsonian Museum Day, an annual national celebration of all things historical and cultural.
Free tickets – required – are available online at the Smithsonian Magazine website for admission to the Museum of World Treasures, Old Cowtown, the Kansas African American Museum, Kansas Aviation Museum, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum and Lake Afton Public Observatory.
Two other county attractions, the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame and Wichita Art Museum, are participating in the national event, although they are open for free anyway that day.
The idea of Smithsonian Day is to encourage people who might not normally go to a museum to explore the historic and cultural resources in their community, said Angela Cato of the city’s Arts and Cultural Services Department.
Several sites will be having special activities that day, including Old Cowtown, which will play host to an afternoon of vintage baseball matching teams using 1870s-style equipment, rules and uniforms, Cato said.
The Art Museum will have a Family Art Venture called “Grin and Say Cheese.” Adults and youth can take selfies that will be added to the museum’s digital display, spokeswoman Teresa Veazey said.
While the museum has free admission every Saturday, it participates in Smithsonian Day because the publicity surrounding it draws in people who aren’t aware of the art museum – especially parents with school-age children, Veazey said.
“They’re bringing the art lovers of tomorrow, the explorers of tomorrow,” Veazey said. “It’s a great way to introduce people to cultural opportunities in the community.”
For a searchable list of participating museums and to obtain free tickets for Smithsonian Day, go to www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/.
Reach Dion Lefler at 316-268-6527 or dlefler@wichitaeagle.com.
Free admission Saturday
These Kansas museums and historical sites are participating in Smithsonian Museum Day: Admission will be free on Saturday.
For most museums, tickets are required, and can be obtained at www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday
Wichita
Museum of World Treasures, 835 E. First St.
Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 S. Main
Kansas African American Museum, 601 N. Water
Kansas Aviation Museum, 3350 George Washington Blvd.
Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 W. Museum Blvd.
Wichita Art Museum, 1400 W. Museum Blvd.
Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, 515 S. Wichita
Goddard
Lake Afton Public Observatory, 25000 W. 39th St. South
Hutchinson
Cosmosphere, 1100 N. Plum
Strataca (underground salt mine museum), 3650 E. Avenue G
El Dorado
Butler County History Center & Kansas Oil Museum, 383 E. Central
Chanute
Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, 111 N. Lincoln Ave.
Topeka
Kansas Museum of History, 6525 SW Sixth Ave.
Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, 4400 SW 10th Ave.
Lucas
Grassroots Art Center, 213 S. Main St.
Ottawa
Old Depot Museum, 135 W. Tecumseh St.
Concordia
National Orphan Train Complex, 300 Washington St.
Lawrence
Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, 2350 Petefish Drive
Hanover
Hollenberg Pony Express Station State Historic Site, 2889 23rd Road
Atchison
Atchison County Historical Society Museum, 200 S. 10th St.
Gardner
Gardner Historical Museum, 204 W. Main St.
Pittsburg
Crawford County Historical Museum, 651 S. Highway 69
Republic
Pawnee Indian Museum State Historic Site, 480 Pawnee Trail
Shawnee
Wonderscope Children’s Museum, 5700 King St.
Manhattan
Goodnow House State Historic Site, 2301 Claflin
This story was originally published September 21, 2014 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Some Wichita attractions offering free admission for Smithsonian Museum Day."