Dane G. Hansen Foundation grant
The Dane G. Hansen Foundation of Logan generously provided field trip subsidies to schools from northwest Kansas in observance of the Kansas sesquicentennial in 2011. These subsidies covered the costs involved in bring the students to the Kansas Museum of History's special exhibit, 150 Things I Love About Kansas.
Students of all ages from far western Kansas were so grateful for the opportunity to come to the Kansas Museum of History and visit their state capitol. Many had never been to Topeka or only passed through along the interstate. The opportunities they had to visit other sites along the way such as Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Combat Air Museum, and Brown v. Board National Historic Site will live in their memories for a long time. Along with the students and sponsors, we at the Kansas Historical Society would like to extend our thanks to the Dane G. Hansen Foundation for making this possible.
Oberlin USD 294
The last group to visit the 150 Things I Love about Kansas exhibit with funding provided by the Dane G. Hansen Foundation came on Sunday, Dec. 18. They participated in guided tours of the museum.
Palco USD 269
Twenty-four students from Palco arrived at the museum Friday, December 16. They also visited the Capitol.
Thunder Ridge USD 110
Fifty-three students and their sponsors from Thunder Ridge High school in Kensington visited the museum Wednesday December 7.
Greeley County USD 200
Students from Tribune visited the museum on December 6th. They had fun participating in a search and find during their visit to the 150 Things.
Sharon Springs USD 241
Students from Wallace County traveled to Topeka November 21 and 22. On the way they visited the Eisenhower Presidential Museum and Library in Abilene. They spent the night at the Holiday Inn. They also visited the Combat Air Museum and the Capitol. Before returning to Sharon Springs they visited the museum viewing both the 150 Things I Love About Kansas and the main exhibits.
Atwood USD 105
Rawlins County High students came just before Thanksgiving break. They had an opportunity to visit the Capitol also.
Norton USD 211
Seventy students from Norton Middle School visited the museum on November 18. They also went to the Brown v. Board National Historic Site before returning to Norton.
Trego County USD 208
High school students from Wakeeney visited the museum today. They arrived in time to see the three baby bison that were here for the Kansas 150 Tribal Commemoration. Unfortunately they didn't get to stay until the ceremony with the 4 resident Indian tribes and the Kaw. However, they did enjoy the guided tour of the the museum.
Brewster USD 314
The Dane Hansen Foundation has made an impact on hundreds of students from northwest Kansas this year. These images show high school students from Brewster visiting the 150 Things I Love about Kansas in honor of Kansas S150th birthday.
Northern Valley USD 212
The students from Northern Valley came November 4 for a guided tour. Northern Valley is in Almena.
Cheylin USD 103
Cheylin students arrived November 3 all decked out in their "Cheylin Schools Visit Topeka" shirts. They were the first group of students to visit our newly remodeled gift shop. The students also visited the Capitol while they were in Topeka.
Weskan USD 242
We were glad the students from Weskan could visit us on Sunday, October 30. They traveled nearly 6 hours from northwestern Kansas to the museum. Without the support of the Dane Hansen Foundation this experience probably would not have happened for these high school students.
Tri-Plains USD 275
48 students from Winona, Tri-Plains school district visited the museum on Saturday, October 29. The students traveled 640 miles round trip to come see the Capitol and the Kansas Museum of History. They came on Friday touring the Capitol first. The night was spent at the Quality Inn and Saturday morning they arrived at the museum for their tour. Then they headed back to Winona.
Hill City USD 281
The Hill City eighth graders arrived early Thursday morning. They had driven from Hill City the afternoon before and stayed at the Holiday Inn. We are so glad to have these students from northwestern Kansas be able to visit us courtesy of the Hansen Foundation. We hope to do this again in the near future.
St. Francis USD 297
The eighth graders from St. Francis had a very nice trip thanks to the Hansen Foundation. They left St. Francis yesterday morning and drove to Eisenhower Presidential Library. Then they came to Topeka and checked-in to the Holiday Inn. After a meal of pizza they headed to Forbes Field to the Air and Combat Museum. The evening was finished with a swimming party. Early Wednesday they headed to the Capitol accompanied by Representative Ward Cassidy. He joined them on their tour of the Capitol including pictures in the governor's office. They arrived at the museum for their tour of the 150 Things I Love about Kansas and the guided tour of the museum. Lunch was at Red Robin's and then they began the six hour drive home. Once again thanks to the Hansen Foundation for making this trip special for the students from St. Francis.
Hoxie USD 412
35 seventh and eighth graders from Hoxie came Tuesday afternoon, October 25. The drove the five hours to Topeka and visited the Capitol then visited the museum.
Logan USD 326
Sue Jackson's 24 students from Logan visited the museum on Friday, October 21. They participated in a guided tour, Westward Ho! and also viewed the 150 Things exhibit and did a self-guided tour of the museum. After that they toured the Capitol. The students also ate at Red Robin.
We received this note from Ms Jackson after their visit:
Thank you so much for your part in offering and obtaining the grant money for us to make the trip to your museum. We all enjoyed our time there so much. The museum is simply wonderful, and if it weren't for the long distance, we would visit there more frequently. It was surely a once-in-a-lifetime experience for several of our students and possibly a couple of the adults, too. Please express our sincere thanks to our Westward Ho tour guide as well. He was very knowledgeable, and he offered a lot of information in a very short amount of time. I haven't had a chance to look at Facebook yet, but I will make that information available to all the students and their parents.
Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Sue Jackson
Colby USD 315
After lunch at Freddies, Colby students arrived at the museum the afternoon of October 20. The seventy students visited the 150 Things exhibit and then participated in a self-guided tour of the museum. They had visited the Capitol before they came to the museum. For several of the students this was their first visit to Topeka.
Plainville USD 270
Seventh graders from Plainville visited the museum the morning of October 20. They began with a self-guided tour of the 150 Things I Love about Kansas. After they had tried the interactives in that special exhibit they were divided into two groups to have a guided tour of the museum. The next stop on their agenda was a tour of the Capitol.
Wheatland (USD 292) and Grinnell (USD 291)
Fourth through high school students from Wheatland and Grinnell joined together to visit the museum on Tuesday, October 18. They scanned the museum to find answers to "Who Am I?" a self-guided tour of Famous Kansans. After they left the museum they had the opportunity to visit Brown v. Board National Historic Site.
Quinter, USD 293
These 8th through 11th graders arrived Tuesday, October 18. They toured the 150 Things I Love about Kansas and then participated in guided tours of the museum. In the afternoon they visited the Capitol and Brown v. Board National Historic Site.
Wakeeney (Trego County) USD 208
The students from Wakeeney have split into two visits. The first group arrived on Friday, October 14. These were middle level students. The participated in guided tours through the museum.
Oakley Middle School USD 274
Seventh and eighth graders visited the 150 Things I Love About Kansas, Friday, September 30. The students left early to make the long bus ride to Topeka. They ate lunch at Coyote Canyon and then came to museum. After a quick driving tour of the Capitol they headed back. We want to thank the Hansen Foundation for making this opportunity possible. Many of the students who have come to visit the museum have never been to Topeka before.
Victoria USD 432
The 6th and 7th graders from Victoria arrived September 13 to visit the exhibit. The students participated in a guided tour of the museum after visiting the 150 Things I Love About Kansas. After their tour they ate lunch at McDonalds, toured the Capitol and headed home.
Golden Plains USD 316
On Sept. 2 fifth and seventh graders from Golden Plains school district left the school at 5:30 a.m. and arrived at the museum at 11. They visited the 150 Things I Love About Kansas exhibit and the museum, ate lunch on our grounds, and then went to the Capitol. Most of the students had never been to Topeka before. This was a long day for them, but they were quite excited to have the opportunity.
Ellis USD 388
The first school to participate in this grant was Washington Elementary and Junior High of Ellis, which brought 53 seventh and eighth grade students in May. Teachers Shelly Hensley and Kerry Bittel organized the four-hour bus trip that covered 200 miles. For some students, this was their first trip east of Salina. Their field trip included a visit to the museum, Capitol, and to Brookville Hotel in Abilene.
Phillipsburg USD 325
Eighth grade students from Phillipsburg visited the Kansas Museum of History and Kansas State Capitol on May 17, 2011.
Comments from Phillipsburg teachers:
"The museum exhibits gave students a real sense of Kansas history. The clothing, guns, utensils, and other artifacts showed students what life was really like." -Mrs. Tina Johnson, Phillipsburg Middle School 7/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
"The articles in the museum were organized by time periods, and we really felt our students took their time examining them. They seemed especially excited by the train and it contents, for example." -Mrs. Tina Johnson, Phillipsburg Middle School 7/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
"The 8th graders were so impressed with the exhibits, they spoke highly of the experience to their 7th grade peers upon returning to school the next day." -Mrs. Tina Johnson, Phillipsburg Middle School 7/8th Grade Social Studies Teacher
"Having taught Kansas History in my past, I was really impressed with the number of connections between the museum displays and our Kansas History state standards and textbook information. I overheard many student remarks demonstrating these connections as we toured, which is powerful." -Mrs. Tiffany VanDerVeen, Phillipsburg Middle School 7/8th Reading Teacher
"The students also really responded to the interactive elements of the museum displays and took their time to read the information and to sit at the soda counter display of the "fast food restaurant" beginnings, for example, which made them feel a part of that time period." ~Mrs. Tiffany VanDerVeen, Phillipsburg Middle School 7/8th Reading Teacher
"Both Mrs. Johnson and I repeated several times our hope that we could some how repeat this same trip for our 8th graders annually, it was so valuable from our perspective and so well received by our students.
