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Current
Exhibitions
Please visit the
websites listed for information on
operating hours and admission fees.
Through 7 August
Mugged!: Facing Life at Leavenworth
A behind-the-scenes journey through the halls of the United States
Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. The exhibition features records of
the men (and a few women) who served time at the prison from the 1890s -
1930s. Drawing from the diverse inmate case files in the holdings of the
National Archives at Kansas City, this exhibition offers a glimpse into
prison life in the United States during the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries. Who were the individuals who lived within
Leavenworth's prison walls? What life experiences do records from these
inmate case files show over 100 years later? Visitors to this exhibition
will have the opportunity to create their own inmate case file as they
journey through the exhibit learning about the prison intake process and
day-to-day life behind bars at Leavenworth. Mugged! features famous and
not-so-famous inmates from Leavenworth, including Robert Stroud, known
as "The Birdman of Alcatraz"; African-American heavyweight boxing
champion Jack Johnson; 15-year-old arsonist Lizzie Cardish; and
Prohibition-era gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly.
The National Archives at Kansas City [Web
Site]
400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO
816-268-800
Through August 8, 2010
Bunce Island: A British Slave Castle in Sierra Leone
Bunce Island was once a key base of operations for European slave
merchants in Sierra Leone. Remnants of the slave castle, the last place
captives set foot before boarding ships for America, still stand. The
exhibit’s creator spent 30 years researching the site. The exhibit
includes drawings of the castle made in 1726, 1748, and 1805; pictures
depicting the slave trade era; photos of the ruins, as well as computer
illustrations showing how the castle appeared in 1805. The exhibit is
co-sponsored by the Sierra Leone United Descendants’ Association of
Greater Kansas City.
Kansas City Public Library (Central Library)
[Website]
14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO 816-701-3400
Through 24 August
Heroes of the Sky, Adventures in Early Flight, 1903 -
1939
A traveling exhibit featuring our nation's
early aviators celebrates the first remarkable decades of flight through
stories of the fliers, businessmen and inventors who transformed
airplanes from the novel invention of tinkerers into sophisticated
machines of transportation, commerce and war.
Excelsior
Springs Historical Museum and Archives [Web
Site]
101 E. Broadway, Excelsior Springs, MO 816-630-0101
Through the summer
Children's Exhibit includes details of Frank and
Jesse James
This interactive exhibit for kids explores what it was like to grow up
on a typical farm in the 1800s and includes the few known details of the
childhood of Jesse and Frank James. A family day event, including games
and activities for children, planned for July 17th.
Jesse James Farm & Museum
[County Web Site]
21216 Jesse James Farm Road, Kearney, MO 64060
Dinosaurs Unearthed
A presentation of fossil evidence that many well-known dinosaur species
may have been covered in feathers. This is the largest collection of
feathered fossil replicas on display outside of China. The multisensory
and interactive exhibit brings inspiration, science and technology
together as visitors also hear the sounds and see the movements of 24
full-sized animatronic dinosaurs.
Additional
information
Union Station
[Web
Site]
30 Pershing Rd., Kansas City
816-474-3848
Through 1
September
The First
World War in Color
Vivid insight into the Great War through the presentation of newly
acquired historical objects from countries around the world. Black and
white photography which captured the grey images of the Great War failed
to show the flashes of color seen by the soldier. The special exhibition
shows the stark contrast between these black and white images and the
colorful objects from the war.
National World War I
Museum at Liberty Memorial [Web
Site]
100 West 26th St., Kansas City, MO 64108 816-784-1918
Through 1 October
Partisan Pieces: Quilts of Political and Patriotic Persuasion
This exhibition features 12 historical quilts from the 1840s -
1940s. The quilts are made of pieced and appliquéd stars, flags, eagles,
campaign ribbons, and flowers. The theme and focus is on the political and
patriotic sentiments of the women who made them during the nineteenth and
twentieth centuries. This exhibition is a sampling of the numerous ways
women cast their vote, if not their ballot in the years before suffrage.
Partisan Pieces breaks new ground in the search for women’s rights as a
new government and a new nation were being created. Rather than reading
between the lines you can read between the stitches to gain new insights
into the minds and emotions of the founding mothers. The exhibit
runs through October 1, 2010.
The National Archives at Kansas City [Web
Site]
400 West Pershing Road, Kansas City, MO
816-268-8000
Through
3 October
Big Bugs Exhibit
For family fun that’s too big to miss, take a safari to Powell Gardens,
Kansas City’s botanical garden, where Dave Rogers’ Big Bugs exhibit
of 11 unnaturally large insect sculptures includes a 700-pound trio of
ants and a new 10-foot-tall daddy long legs. The artist creates these
larger-than-life sculptures from natural materials such as bent willow,
red cedar, black locust, black walnut and fungi. Special activities during
the exhibit include play stations such as the “I Dig Bugs” sandbox, a
kid-sized ant hill and a caterpillar crawl. The Crawleseum in the visitor
center provides a chance to see live bugs up close. An ongoing Bee
Creative Art Station for children will be open from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. each
Wednesday, and a collection of finished artwork will be displayed during
the Festival of Butterflies Aug. 6-15.
Powell Gardens
[Web
Site]
1609 NW Hwy 50, Kingsville, MO 816-697-2600
14 August – 17 October
200 Years on Troost
Father David Paisius Altschul began researching Troost Avenue more than
25 years ago and ultimately decided to document its history in the
exhibit 200 Years on Troost. Photographs and written commentary trace
the history of Troost Avenue from its beginnings in 1808 to present day.
Visitors will learn how the area transformed from the home of a 365-acre
slave plantation in the 1830s to an upscale residential area in the late
1880s to a business hub in the early 1900s. The exhibit also chronicles
the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and
the new sense of community that exists today.
Kansas City Public Library (Central Library)
[Website]
14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO 816-701-3400
7 August – 31 October
Red-Color News Soldier
The Red-Color News Soldier exhibit is among the first visual records of
the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which spanned from 1966-1976. Almost no
visual documentation of the era exists—and almost all that does is
biased—due to the Chinese government’s control of the media, arts, and
cultural institutions. Li Zhensheng, a party-approved photographer for
The Heilongjiang Daily, was granted unusual access to capture events
during the Revolution and managed to hide and preserve over 20,000
stills for more than four decades. Those stills became the basis for a
book, Red-Color News Soldier by Zhensheng and Robert Y. Pledge, as well
as the accompanying exhibit.
Kansas City Public Library (Central Library)
[Website]
14 W. 10th St., Kansas City, MO 816-701-3400
Through 2010
America’s Favorite Doll Rings In Her 50th
in Kansas City!
Her
name is universal. Her style is impeccable. Her image is iconic. Her world
is a decade of dreams spanning 50 years of sensational style and luxurious
living. Who else could we be describing other than the one, the only, the
beloved Barbie®! This November, the Toy & Miniature Museum presents their
collection of America’s favorite doll, a collaboration of items loaned to
the exhibit by collectors, transforming the Museum halls into a shrine of
all that is Barbie®. Explore her life of splendor and the evolution of the
world’s most iconic toy, bringing joy and imaginative play into the lives
of children across the globe.
The Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City
[Web Site]
5235 Oak Street Kansas City, MO 64112 (816) 333-9328
Through 15 December
Pony Express Sesquicentennial Event: Riders of the Pony Express
A fascinating overview of Pony Express riders’ lives and times,
including19th-century photographs of actual riders, along with mochilas
(mail bags), saddles, news clippings, drawings, maps and much more.
The St. Joseph Museums, Inc.
[Web
Site]
3406 Frederick Avenue, St. Joseph, MO 816-232-8471
Car Free Weekends at Cliff Drive
Ongoing
For the second summer, Cliff Drive will close to all motorized vehicles at
2 p.m. Friday and remain closed until 8 a.m. on the following Monday. (If
a holiday falls on a Friday, the gates will close at 2 p.m. the preceding
Thursday. If a holiday falls on Monday, the gates will re-open the
following Tuesday at 8 a.m. Pedestrians and bicycle enthusiasts are
encouraged to come to Cliff Drive and take advantage of the opportunity it
offers to promote a healthy lifestyle. Cliff Drive, in Kansas City's
historic northeast area, was designated a State Scenic Byway in 2000.
The Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department has developed a
flyer which describes the rich history of the neighborhood and Drive.
Additional information is also available at the
Cliff Drive Scenic Byway Corridor Management Committee.
website.
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