History Time

A Newsletter for Kansas Educators

April 2024

Make and Take: Kansas ABCs

Have your students create their own Kansas ABC book by cutting out pictures from magazines or by drawing their own pictures. Use these to create a Kansas ABC book for the class, one for each student, or bulletin board posters. The attached lesson plan has ideas, but feel free to add your own. Your imagination is the limit! Pair this make and take with our Kansas ABCs video. Some of our choices may be familiar and some may be new to you!

Standards Based Activity:

War for the Union and for Freedom

HGSS Standard #5: Individuals have rights and responsibilities.

Read Kansas! lesson M-18 examines the recruitment of volunteer regiments in Kansas at the beginning of the Civil War. Students learn about the nation's need to raise a volunteer army. They compare and contrast soldiers' motivations for joining a volunteer regiment using primary sources and identify how and why a soldier's race factored into the decision to enlist.

Racial integration of United States

troops didn't happen until after

World War II, nearly 90 years

after the conclusion of the Civil

War. However, volunteers like first lieutenant William Matthews took the first steps to creating an integrated military.

Road Trip!

School is almost out for summer break! For many, this means family vacations. Today’s vehicles can go several hundred miles in a day. From Kansas it is easy to reach even the farthest destinations within the U.S. in a few days.



This Museum Memories short clip highlights our covered wagon, a replica of those used by families moving west in the early 1800s. Their journey was very different than road trips of today. Use this clip to have students compare and contrast road trips by car and by covered wagon.

Sunflower Summer

Planning to travel around Kansas this summer? Make sure to take advantage of the Sunflower Summer program! With the app, Kansas families can visit attractions around the state for FREE. Museums, zoos, historical sites, nature centers, and more are included in the program. All Kansas students currently enrolled in Pre-K through 12th grade are eligible for the program. Up to two adults can receive a free voucher when accompanying an eligible student. The 2024 season starts Saturday, May 25, 2024 and will end Sunday, August 11, 2024.

Professional Development

April 13, 2024 from 1-4 PM:

Kansas Schools, Native Americans, and the New Deal Symposium

The Beach Museum of Art and Humanities Kansas are hosting a symposium related to New Deal era art education programs and their impact on Native Americans in Kansas. Presenters include Alex Red Corn, Travis Campbell, Kevin Slivka, Kara Heitz, Raphael Wahwassuck and Tara Mitchell. This in-person event is organized in conjunction with their current exhibition about art collecting for Kansas public schools and is free and open to the public.

Don't Forget!

State Historic Sites now have free admission! Look for one in your area. Call ahead as some are only open seasonally.

Rural School Days programs are still offered at the Kansas Museum of History.

Read Kansas! are available free of charge for primary, intermediate, middle, and high school students while supplies last.

A variety of virtual tours, videos, and Nearpod lessons are available to use in your classroom. 

Traveling resource trunks are available to borrow. Reserve one now for the school year.

The Kansas Museum of History is closed for renovations. Although the museum is not available for field trips, our staff is here for you.

Zephyr, our newest publication, provides information on events, programs, updates on the museum renovation, and highlights a variety of state historic sites.