History Time

A Newsletter for Kansas Educators

October 2022

Got the Field Trip Blues?

The education staff here at the Kansas Museum of History is a little sad that on-site field trips are not possible due to our renovations closure. However, some of our museum tours are now on video and they follow the same format as our on-site tours! They are free and available on your time schedule. And there’s more! Contact our staff to book a special virtual classroom visit to accompany many of our online materials. Using zoom, our educators will reinforce the essential questions and enhance learning with primary sources and more. We highlight our primary tour “Wagons, Wheels, and Wings” for this month.

Wagons, Wheels, and Wings Museum Video Tour (19:30)

This transportation tour covers 5 forms of travel and takes place in the Museum’s gallery. Essential questions: Do forms of transportation change over time? Do these forms affect how we live our lives?

Book a free live virtual visit with a museum educator to enhance this tour by emailing KSHS.Education@ks.gov.

Standards Based Activity:

HGSS Standard #3: Societies are shaped by the identities, beliefs, and practices of individuals and groups.

Cassie’s Scrapbook is a young reader book about life in 21st century Kansas for an American Indian student. This non-fiction book explores the topic through the life of Cassie, a member of the Potawatomi Nation. Cassie attends public school, plays soccer, has pets, and spends time with her family learning about her heritage. The book is accompanied by questions for a teacher-led discussion.

40 Years Old

Why is the Kansas Museum of History closing for renovations?

History doesn’t change, but exhibit trends become dated. The exhibits in the Kansas Museum of History are 40 years old, and they’re showing their age. The cassette tape deck, TV, and game control in the “Our Recent Past” section are displayed to showcase modern technology, yet they predate many school group chaperones.

Exhibit technology also changes over time. Museum visitors live in the 21st century and expect contemporary technology in all parts of their lives. Exhibits created in the early 1980s are like teaching today’s students using mimeographed worksheets and film strips. While some sections of the exhibit were updated during the past four decades, it is time to move beyond simply adding bandaids and onto making skeletal changes.

Professional Development

October 11, 12:30-1:30: Topeka Public Schools USD #501 – Join Museum Educator Trae Johnson to learn how educators can use primary sources in their classrooms.

What topics would you most like

to see 3-5 minute videos about?

Don't Forget!

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

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

State Capitol Visitors Center offers guided tours. Self-guided brochures are available for those who want to explore on their own.

State historic sites offer guided tours. Look for a site in your area.

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

Student Photo Contest entries are accepted through January 9, 2023.

Ghost Stories & Other Eerie Tales