Kansas in the early days was filled with challenges and plenty of dangers, and that was just getting here. Image arriving to a vast wilderness with few resources and enduring all that Kansas weather can muster. With limited options for supplies, making a home on the prairie was not for the timid or faint of heart. For most, that idea sounds extremely daunting. Nonetheless, thousands traveled to Kansas to stake their claim and make a new life.

Quick Facts

• +750 sq. ft. needed for exhibit.
• Electricity needed for four exhibit elements
• Standard booking period is 3 months. Longer periods can be negotiated
• Fee is $2,500 for 3 months. The shipping fee is included in the price.
• Educational activity book is included.
• Staff from the Smoky Hill Museum will deliver, install and train.
• Plenty of 3D objects by no artifacts as part of the exhibit and therefore no special facility requirements.

For booking or additional questions, contact Joshua Morris.

Designed for all ages, interactive components deepen the experience, challenge the visitor and offer tons of fun!

In the exhibit: A Place to Call Home offers hands-on activities to spur engagement. Visitors explore and experience the trail like an 1800s pioneer with the interactive “Who will prevail–You or the Trail?” This interactive challenges their knowledge to see if they would survive as a pioneer. The interactive, “The Immigrant in You,” asks visitors to show from where they or their family immigrated to Kansas.

At home: An activity booklet is packed full of fun for puzzlers of all ages. It boasts mazes, word search, coloring pages, matching puzzles and more! There is more to do with this playful activity booklet, free with the exhibit, while supplies last. All activities and puzzles are also available in single-page form.

Exhibit Support

• City Wide Storage
• Exline Inc.
• Mid-Kansas Title Co. Inc.
• Waters Hardware

Exhibit Designed and Produced by Smoky Hill Museum, a division of Salina Arts and Humanities, a department of the City of Salina, Kansas. The exhibit team: Rosa De La Cruz, Susan Hawksworth, Nona Miller, Joshua Morris, Jennifer Toelle, and Eldon Yeakel.

The Smoky Hill Museum gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the many individuals who in the development of this exhibit, including Lynette Kanak, Rawlins County Museum; Laura McClure, Osborne Carnegie Research Center; Von Rothenberger; Sami Windle, Director, High Plains Museum; Riley County Museum; Megan Burton, State Archivist, Kansas State Historical Society; Fick Fossil History Museum; Allana Saenger Parker; Steve Friesen and Jordan Larzalere.

For additional questions, contact Joshua Morris, Curator of Exhibits, at josh.morris@salina.org.