Wichita, now the largest city in Kansas, had humble beginnings in 1865, when Jesse Chisholm began the driving of cattle from here along the famous Chisholm Trail to the Union Pacific railroad station in Abilene. Pioneering days are recalled in the Wichita Historical Museum and the Historic Old Cowtown Museum, a museum village with 40 old buildings. The Mid-America All Indian Center and Museum is dedicated to the Indians. Today Wichita is the main aircraft construction centre, even though only small craft, such as Beech, Lear and Cessna, are produced here.
Wichita's Botanica is a 9.5 acre site that features themed gardens including an aquatic collection, woodland glade, teaching garden, butterfly garden, rose garden and scenery garden.
Hours:
April 1 to October 31: 9am-5pm; Sun:1pm-5pm; Tue:9am-8pm; Thu:9am-8pm
The Ablah Library Special Collections in Wichita include university archives, historic maps of Kansas, a Japanese prayer scroll from AD 770 as well as material on aviation, abolition and local history.
The Allen Lambe House in Wichita was designed for the prominent journalist and Statesman Henry J Allen and his wife Elsie J Nuzman Allen. The house was completed in 1918 and is considered the last of the Prairie Houses by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Address: Allen Lambe House Foundation, 255 North Roosevelt Street, Wichita, KS 67208-3720, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 687-1027, Fax: 1 (316) 687-2991
Hours:
Always closed on: New Year's Day (January 1), Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Tips: Open by appointment only with 10 days advance notice. No one under 16 permitted on tours. Photos are permitted on the exterior only.
The Ulrich Museum of Art is located on the Wichita State University campus. The museum features more than 6,000 artworks and a large marble and glass mosaic. Sixty-five modern sculptures are displayed throughout the campus.
Address: Edwin A Ulrich Museum of Art, 1845 Fairmount Street, Wichita, KS 67260-0046, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 978-3664, Fax: 1 (316) 978-3898
The Kansas Aviation Museum is located next to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita. It features planes, aircraft engines and models. A mural of Lindbergh's flight is painted on the building's facade.
Address: Kansas Aviation Museum, 3350 George Washington Boulevard, Wichita, KS 67210-2100, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 683-9242, Fax: 1 (316) 683-0573
Hours:
10am-5pm; Sun:12pm-5pm
Always closed on: Thanksgiving - USA (4th Thursday, November ), Christmas - Christian (December 25), Easter - Christian
The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame was founded in Wichita in 1961 as a part of the Kansas Centennial Celebration. The hall will preserve the history of sports for the state.
Address: Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, 515 South Wichita, Wichita, KS 67202, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 262-2038, Fax: 1 (316) 263-2539
Lake Afton Public Observatory is home to a 16-inch reflecting telescope and interactive astronomy exhibits. Visitors can view such wonders as the giant planet Saturn and its rings, the Moon with its craters and mountains, glowing clouds of interstellar gas and dust, star clusters with thousands of stars, and distant galaxies larger than the Milky Way.
The Indian Center Museum in Wichita features both traditional artifacts and contemporary art depicting Native American cultures of both past and present. The Indian Artist Walk of Fame is a series of small gardens, each dedicated to a famous Native American artist. The Keeper of the Plains, a Wichita landmark, is a 44-foot-tall Indian sculpture by Native American artist, Blackbear Bosin.
Museum of World Treasures has a little bit of everything from a dinosaur collection to military history, crown jewels to Egyptian mummies. Visitors can experience a trip through the past as they tour the three floors of permanent and rotating exhibits.
Old Cowtown in Wichita is a living history museum with more than 40 restored and reproduced buildings dating from 1865-1880. This 25 acre site helps visitors relive the frontier days of this Kansas cattle town. Many of the buildings are furnished in period. There is also a five-acre working farm, complete with animals. Some of the events held at Old Cowtown include "Age of the Gunfighters" "Women of the West" and "Old Fashioned Christmas."
Address: Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 Museum Boulevard, Wichita, KS 67203, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 219-1871, Fax: 1 (316) 264-2937
Hours:
April 15 to December 15: 9:30am-4:30pm; Sun:12pm-4:30pm; Closed: Mon, Tue
December 16 to April 14: 10am-4pm; Closed: Mon, Tue, Sun, Mon
The Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita is home to more than 2,500 animals of nearly 500 different species. The Herpatrium, the Jungle, the African Veldt and the Pampas-Outback are recreated habitats for many of the animals.
Address: Sedgwick County Zoo, 5555 Zoo Boulevard, Wichita, KS 67212-1698, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 660-9453, Fax: 1 (316) 942-3781
Hours:
March 1 to October 31: 8:30am-5pm
November 1 to February 28: 10am-5pm
Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.
Facilities: Gift shop, Restaurant or food service, Wheelchair loan or rental
The Society of Decorative Painters in Wichita is home to the International Society headquarters and highlights decorative arts through an extensive collection.
Address: Society of Decorative Painters, 393 North McLean Boulevard, Wichita, KS 67203-5968, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 269-9300, Fax: 1 (316) 269-9191
The Wichita Boathouse features a permanent display of the Jayhawk, an International America's Cup Class yacht. There is an exact replica of the America's Cup trophy and an historic overview of the old Riverside Boathouse.
The Corbin Education Center is a highlight of the Wichita State University campus. The center was designed by the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. More than 350 fine art perfromances are held on campus each year.
Housed in the former city hall building, the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum features a recreated 1910 drug store, a historical exhibit from frontier days to the beginning of the 20th C and a collection of pattern-pressed glass from the 1890s.
Address: Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, 204 South Main Street, Wichita, KS 67202-3716, United States
Phone: 1 (316) 265-9314, Fax: 1 (316) 265-9319
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