Big Read Wichita – Saturday, Nov. 12th, 2pm “My Story: Vietnam to Wichita” with Dr. Anh Tran

The Historical Museum is pleased to be part of a community-wide celebration of great literature as the Wichita Public Library and more than forty other organizations sponsor the Big Read October 1 through November 15.  The Big Read encourages adults to read and discuss The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.

As part of the Big Read, the Historical Museum will host “My Story: Vietnam to Wichita” with Dr. Anh Tran on November 12th at 2pm. Dr. Tran, Associate Professor at Wichita State University, will share her personal and compelling story of flight from war-torn Vietnam and creating her place in Wichita. A group of Vietnamese students will perform a traditional dance immediately following the program. Free and open to the public.

Also on November 12th, the Museum will host a family program at 3:30. Participants will enjoy a read-aloud and craft activity based on the children’s book “Buddha’s Diamonds” by Carolyn Marsden and Thay Niem. Free and open to the public.

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Final Friday – Family Friendly Torchlight Tour – Friday, October 28th 7-10 pm; free and open to the public

Final Friday – Family Friendly Torchlight Tour – Friday, October 28th, 7-10 pm; free and open to the public.

Just in time for Halloween, join us for Final Friday, October 28th from 7:00 – 10:00 pm for a fun tour of the Museum, in the dark! Flashlights provided for participants as you are guided through the Museum to enjoy four floors of Wichita history in a new way, including a visit to the Clock Tower! Space is limited for this free event.

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Paranormal Activity Revealed & Behind-the-Scenes Tour of Old City Hall – Saturday, October 15th 5-7pm – $20 admission; $10 for members

Special programs at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum with the Wichita Paranormal Research Society

Saturday, Oct. 15th – 5-7 pm – A public reveal of recent paranormal activity in Old City Hall, now the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. Attendees will take a special behind-the-scenes tour where paranormal activity has been recorded. WPRS Investigators will be available to demonstrate equipment and answer questions. Admission for this event is $20; members admission is $10

Call the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum to purchase tickets – seating is limited.

Wichita’s Original City Hall was built in 1890 and is known as the “Palace of the Plains.”All city offices, including the police and fire departments and Wichita’s first public library, were housed in the building which functioned as City Hall until 1976. Since that time, the building has been home to the Historical Museum and serves as the Museum’s premier artifact and exhibit. The Museum occupies the entire building and features dozens of individual exhibits pertaining to local history.

The Wichita Paranormal Research Society is committed to authenticating evidence and documenting the existence of paranormal activity using current technological and scientific methods. The Wichita Paranormal Research Society does not attempt to “prove” a haunting, but interprets evidence to support reasonable explanations whenever possible.  Visit their website at www.wichitaparanormal.com.

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Paranormal Activity Revealed in Old City Hall – Saturday, October 8th 3-5pm $5 admission; members free

Special programs at the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum with the Wichita Paranormal Research Society

Saturday, Oct. 8th – 3-5 pm – A public reveal of the recent paranormal activity documented in Old City Hall, now the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum. Admission for this ticketed event is $5; members are free.

Call the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum to purchase tickets – seating is limited.

Wichita’s Original City Hall was built in 1890 and is known as the “Palace of the Plains.”All city offices, including the police and fire departments and Wichita’s first public library, were housed in the building which functioned as City Hall until 1976. Since that time, the building has been home to the Historical Museum and serves as the Museum’s premier artifact and exhibit. The Museum occupies the entire building and features dozens of individual exhibits pertaining to local history.

The Wichita Paranormal Research Society is committed to authenticating evidence and documenting the existence of paranormal activity using current technological and scientific methods. The Wichita Paranormal Research Society does not attempt to “prove” a haunting, but interprets evidence to support reasonable explanations whenever possible.  Visit their website at www.wichitaparanormal.com.

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First Friday – October 7th, 6-10 pm- Exhibit Opening – “18 Strings Over Sedgwick County”

First Friday Exhibit Opening – “18 Strings Over Sedgwick County” Friday, October 7th, 6-10 pm; free and open to the public

Sedgwick County, Kansas has a remarkable history of attracting maverick innovators. One name on this roster is Ralph Smith, developer of the 18 string guitar. An Oklahoman by birth, Mr. Smith served in the U.S. Army and afterward settled in Wichita, working in the aircraft industry and raising a family. Outside of work, Smith pursued many interests including building guitars, specifically an unusual 18 string of his own design, a concept only pursued on an experimental basis by others.

Smith’s success with his guitar designs were so pronounced and praises by celebrity guitarists so great that in 1970 he opened a guitar manufacturing facility in Haysville, Kansas, a community adjoining Wichita’s south side. Financial troubles ended the company after one year, but Smith went on to build many guitars in a smaller facility staffed by his immediate family. Today, five years after Smith’s death, his family carries on the tradition he established.

On view through the end of this year are rare examples of the guitars made by the Smith Family in an exhibit telling the Smith Guitar story.

Deke Dickerson, Guest Curator – an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, film composer, writer, and record producer living in Los Angeles. Dickerson writes a regular column in Guitar Player magazine and feature articles in Vintage Guitar magazine and The Fretboard Journal. He also organizes and host an annual “Guitar Geek Festival” held in Anaheim, California, every January.

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Author Event – Sept. 29th – Candice Millard – “Destiny of the Republic: The Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President’

Author Candice Millard discusses her latest book, “Destiny of the Republic: The Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President” on Thursday, September 29th. Doors open at 6:30 and the program begins at 7pm. Books will be available for purchase and signing.

James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back.

But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what hap­pened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in tur­moil. The unhinged assassin’s half-delivered strike shattered the fragile national mood of a country so recently fractured by civil war, and left the wounded president as the object of a bitter behind-the-scenes struggle for power—over his administration, over the nation’s future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. A team of physicians administered shockingly archaic treatments, to disastrous effect. As his con­dition worsened, Garfield received help: Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, worked around the clock to invent a new device capable of finding the bullet.

Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic will stand alongside The Devil in the White City and The Professor and the Madman as a classic of narrative hi

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Wichita Paranormal Research Society Reveals Paranormal Activity in Old City Hall!

We’ve scheduled two great events in October with the Wichita Paranormal Research Society (WPRS). On Saturday, October 8th from 3-5pm, join us for a public reveal of the recent paranormal activity documented in Old City Hall, now the Historical Museum.  A ticketed event ($5 non-members; members free) call the Museum to reserve your spot at 265-9314.

On Saturday, October 15th from 5-7 pm, WPRS  will reveal recent paranormal activity in Wichita’s Old City Hall, and participants will take a behind-the-scenes tour! WPRS Investigators will be available to demonstrate equipment and answer questions.  This is a ticketed event – $20 non-members; members $10. Call the Museum to reserve at 265-9314.

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Essay Contest

The Historical Museum presents our second annual Essay Contest!

Theme: Revolution, Reaction, Reform in Local History.  One winner from each of the following grade levels (6-8 & 9-12) will receive a $200 prize and a collection of books for their class!

Contest Rules:

  • All Sedgwick County students in grades 6-12 in a public, private, or parochial school, or those who are home schooled are eligible.
  • The entire essay must be the student’s original work
  • Entries must be 300-600 words in length.
  • Any essay with information copied directly from sources without use of quotation marks and cited resource will be disqualified.

Form:

  • The essay is to be handwritten in ink, typed, or prepared on a computer word processor, using black type in a non-script font no smaller than 12 point or larger than 14 point.
  • Please include a Title Page with the following information:
  • Title of the essay, contestant’s full name and age, contestant’s complete mailing address, telephone number, and email address (if available), name of contestant’s school with grade level indicated
  • Essays must have a Bibliography listing all references utilized.  Internet resources, if used, should be cited in similar format, along with the web address used to access the document online.

Contest Parameters:

  • Entries may be turned in at the Historical Museum front desk or mailed to the Historical Museum at the following address:
  • 204 S. Main    Wichita, Kansas    67202
  • Entries must be received by December 21, 2011.  Winners will be notified by February 1, 2012.
  • Essays will be judged on historical accuracey, originality, content, adherence to theme, organization of material, spelling, and grammar.
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Smithsonian Museum Day – Saturday, September 24, 1-5pm

In the spirit of Smithsonian Museums, who offer free admission everyday, Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket…for free. Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/#ixzz1V89XpGKb

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“Appetite for America” by Stephen Fried, Book Reading, & Signing, Wednesday, September 21, 7pm

Author Stephen Fried presents a book reading & signing of “Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West” on Wednesday, September 21st at 7pm. Books will be available for purchase. Free and open to the public.

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