McPherson Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1968 |
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| Location | McPherson, Kansas |
The McPherson Museum in McPherson, Kansas, is a cool place to learn about local history. It helps keep the amazing stories and heritage of the McPherson community alive for everyone.
About the McPherson Museum
The McPherson Museum first opened its doors in 1968. It was created when McPherson College and the city of McPherson decided to work together. They brought their collections of historical items into the Vaniman home. This was the museum's first location.
Later, in 1985, a special group called the McPherson Museum and Arts Foundation was formed. This group took over running the museum. In 2013, the museum moved to a brand new building. This is its current home at 1111 East Kansas Avenue.
What You Can See
The museum's collections started a long time ago, even before the museum itself! Back in 1890, teachers and students at McPherson College began collecting interesting things. They gathered items related to geology, which is the study of rocks and Earth, and paleontology, which is the study of ancient life like dinosaurs. These early collections were shown in different spots around the college.
A big part of the museum's collection came from the Jacob Strausz family from Moundridge, Kansas. In 1967, they gave over 400 items that belonged to early settlers, called pioneer artifacts, to the city of McPherson. They wanted a museum to be created to show these items.
So, in 1968, the city and McPherson College combined their collections. This created the museum we know today. It was made for everyone in the McPherson community to enjoy and learn from.
Since then, the museum has grown a lot! Today, the McPherson Museum has about 25,000 different items. These items cover many exciting topics, including:
- Geology (rocks and Earth's history)
- Paleontology (fossils and ancient life)
- Pioneer history (stories of early settlers)
- Fine art (beautiful paintings and sculptures)
- Native American history (the history of the first people of this land)
- Local history (stories and items from the McPherson area)
