Museum of World Treasures…A Museum in Wichita with a Cool Dinosaur Fossil
The Museum of World Treasures was a fun find in Wichita, KS. If you are looking for a little bit of culture when visiting Wichita or you are looking for a museum in Wichita with hands on activities for the kids, then this will be a good fit. For kiddos, the dinosaur fossil, which is the first thing that visitors see, is pretty impressive.
The museum is a bit of a hodge podge of information on a variety of different things. There are three types of exhibits in the museum: Natural History, World Civilizations, and American History.
Natural History Exhibits
Sea Creatures of the Plains
Fossil Gallery
Cenozoic Era
Geology
World Civilizations
Ancient Near East
Ancient Rome
Ancient Greece
Roman Coin Timeline
Asia
Africa
Pre-Hispanic
Ancient Egypt
European History
American History
Old West
Authors
Cold War
Civil War
Korea
Vietnam
World War 1
Presidents Hall
Founding of America
World War 2
Hands On Activities in the Museum
This museum has a good number of hands on activities that are connected to exhibits. The kids area called Ivan’s Playhouse has things that kids can climb on, and there is an area with a stage with different backdrops that the kids can use. There is also dress up clothes and hats (things that kids can put over the clothes they already have on). Lots of opportunities for creativity!
Scavenger Hunts Created by the Museum
The museum provides scavenger hunts for three groups: Pre-K to 2nd, 3rd-5th, and 6th- adult. A couple of things I appreciate about these scavenger hunts are:
The scavenger hunt for Pre-K to 2nd Grade is made with pictures. This means that students who are not reading yet can still participate in the scavenger hunt.
If students are coming to the museum on a field trip, these scavenger hunts give students a purpose and a goal. Museums like this can be overwhelming to students. Students can experience a bit of an information overload. Between the scavenger hunt and the hands activities, students will leave the museum learning something.
A tip from someone who has been there.
The website for this museum has several really helpful resources for field trips:
Virtual Field Trips– The museum will set up a virtual field trip that focuses mainly on the first floor of the museum. As part of the virtual museum time, there is a question and answer time with an educator and they will show students an artifact or two.
Traveling Trunk– Teachers can rent a trunk with lessons and artifacts focusing on Ancient Rome.
Midnight at the Museum– Kids can spend the night in the museum. This sounds so cool!
Education Resource Center – The following resources are available at this link: coloring sheets, fact sheets, field trip resources, lesson plans, self guided tour highlights, treasure hunts, virtual jigsaw puzzles, and word search/crossword puzzles.
