Overnight gunfire shatters windows at Exploration Place. Damage could exceed $50,000
Overnight gunfire in the downtown area shattered seven large windows at Exploration Place that overlook the Arkansas River and a picnic grove, causing what’s expected to be thousands of dollars in damage.
It’s another financial blow for the county’s hands-on science museum, which is already running a fundraising campaign to help mitigate losses from a months-long shutdown over the COVID-19 pandemic.
Exploration President Adam Smith said Wednesday that it’s still too early to know exactly how much it will cost to replace the glass.
But he expects a hefty price tag. Replacing two similar windows recently cost the museum around $18,000.
“Unfortunately, this is probably going to be in excess of $50,000,” he said.
“This is kind of another punch to the gut, just when we thought we were picking ourselves off the canvas to get ourselves going again.”
Smith said security patrolling the Exploration Place campus on Wednesday morning noticed the window damage. An outdoor kiosk was also struck.
But some of the museum’s 70 security cameras caught the vandalism on film as it happened, at 10:52 p.m. Tuesday, he said.
Unfortunately, the footage doesn’t give any clues about who’s responsible.
“There’s nothing conclusive that we can see on security footage,” Smith said, adding security regularly patrols the grounds.
It’s unknown whether the museum was targeted or an unintended victim of the gunfire. Smith said he wouldn’t speculate on what motivated Tuesday night’s damage but said Exploration Place has had “incidents of pure vandalism” in the past.
Several businesses in other areas of town, including Dick’s Sporting Goods and at least one QuikTrip, were targeted by vandals and looters overnight after the Wichita Police Department broke up a protest it deemed an unlawful assembly at 21st and Maize.
“We are asking if anyone has information about it to contact the police,” Smith said of the vandalism at Exploration Place.
Smith said the vandalism won’t affect the museum’s reopening plans.
Exploration Place, which has been closed since March 13, is scheduled to reopen to members on July 1 and to the rest of the public on July 4.
“We should be able to reopen without any trouble. The deeper effect is the financial one,” he said.
Anyone who wants to donate to Exploration Place to help cover the cost of the glass or provide other financial assistance can make a contribution to the museum’s “COVID-19 Response Fund” at https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/covidresponsefund.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the location of the windows that were shattered.
This story was originally published June 3, 2020 at 7:09 PM.
