Join us as historian Jeanne Klein speaks about Jennie Brooks (1853-1934), a local woman who studied plants and wildlife, published widely on them, and was one of the first observers of Monarch butterfly migrations. The talk will be held in person and livestreamed on the Watkins Museum Facebook and YouTube. This event is part of […]
The City of Lawrence and the Watkins Museum invite you to the annual Lawrence Earth Day Fair! This free event will happen in South Park and feature lots of earth-friendly crafts and activities for you and your family. The "price of admission" is one used can for Cans for the Community or an item of […]
Enter for a chance to win a piece of Lawrence history! This framed blueprint of the Watkins Building was created by the Historic American Buildings Survey ca. 1960-1975. The framed print measures 27.5" x 21.5". Tickets are $5 each or three for $10. Enter as many times as you'd like. The winner will be drawn […]
Each month throughout the school year, the Watkins Museum’s education team offers interactive hands-on activities based on Lawrence history for children ages 3-5 who have not entered school. Tours include story time, videos, time in the galleries, handling artifacts, arts, crafts, and games depending on the month’s topic. Children must be accompanied by an adult […]
Join us at the Watkins Museum for classes based on Lawrence and/or Douglas County History. Topics will be explored using hands-on activities, art projects, and will be multi-subject when appropriate. Parents may attend class, or this can be a drop-off program. Time: 10:30-11:30 AM Enrollment: Students may enroll for the entire school year, or they may enrollmonthly. You […]
We're holding a poster sale! We have deaccessioned duplicate copies of posters and other archival materials already in the museum’s collections and several posters unrelated to Douglas County history. All proceeds from sales of these items will go toward the Watkins Acquisitions and Conservation Fund. The fund will be used to purchase materials for the […]
Join us at the Watkins Museum for classes based on Lawrence and/or Douglas County History. Topics will be explored using hands-on activities, art projects, and will be multi-subject when appropriate. Parents may attend class, or this can be a drop-off program. Students can be enrolled for Tuesday or Friday classes. Time: 10:30-11:30 AM Enrollment: Students may enroll for […]
Join us on the Watkins Facebook and YouTube as we talk with Lucinda Linderman, Sculpture Conservator with Pacific Coast Conservators, and Kerry Altenbernd of the Oak Hill Cemetery Committee about the do's and don'ts of conserving cemeteries and gravestones for the education and memorialization of ourselves and future generations. This event is a partnership with […]
The 11th annual Lawrence Poetry Fair will be hosted at the Watkins. Poets and poetry aficionados, lovers of spring and dancing in the rain among flowers, please join us as we celebrate the sweet song of poetry. If you care to share your Voice, please message Ronda Miller of the Kansas Authors Club at [email protected] […]
Leslie Beesley of the Oak Hill Cemetery Committee will present her popular walking tour of this Lawrence landmark site and the people responsible for creating it. The tour will begin from the Citizens Monument to the victims of Quantrill's Raid. All ticket proceeds will go toward the committee's work to preserve and beautify Oak Hill. […]
Watkins Summer Games are back! Every Wednesday in June and July, bring your kids age 10 and under to the museum for super fun games, crafts, and dances. AND you can enter a drawing to win a $50 gift card to The Toy Store! The theme for each Wednesday will be a different state from […]
Jeanne Klein will lead a walking tour of prominent African Americans buried in old Section 5 at Oak Hill Cemetery. Sites will include civil rights advocates, attorneys, policemen, business owners, church ministers, elementary school teachers, and other occupations. The tour will begin at the Langston’s family plot on the far eastern side of old Section […]
Join us on Wednesdays in July as Bon Bon holds East Lawrence History Salons at the Cider Gallery, featuring Dennis Domer and guests. Chef Simon Bates and Codi Bates have planned inspired evenings of food, drink, and conversation while raising funds to support the Embattled Lawrence book series. This is a continuation of the first […]
Downtown Through the Decades: Exploring Lawrence's Evolution Through Architecture is a roughly 60-minute walking tour of downtown Lawrence that highlights historic architecture hidden among the storefronts and brick buildings downtown. The tour reveals a glimpse into several distinct eras of Lawrence's past. Your tour guide will be history teacher Andrew Morris. Tours meet outside the front […]
Join us on Wednesdays in July as Bon Bon holds East Lawrence History Salons at the Cider Gallery, featuring Dennis Domer and guests. Chef Simon Bates and Codi Bates have planned inspired evenings of food, drink, and conversation while raising funds to support the Embattled Lawrence book series. This is a continuation of the first […]
Downtown Through the Decades: Exploring Lawrence's Evolution Through Architecture is a roughly 60-minute walking tour of downtown Lawrence that highlights historic architecture hidden among the storefronts and brick buildings downtown. The tour reveals a glimpse into several distinct eras of Lawrence's past. Your tour guide will be history teacher Andrew Morris. Tours meet outside the front […]
Join us on Wednesdays in July as Bon Bon holds East Lawrence History Salons at the Cider Gallery, featuring Dennis Domer and guests. Chef Simon Bates and Codi Bates have planned inspired evenings of food, drink, and conversation while raising funds to support the Embattled Lawrence book series. This is a continuation of the first […]
Downtown Through the Decades: Exploring Lawrence's Evolution Through Architecture is a roughly 60-minute walking tour of downtown Lawrence that highlights historic architecture hidden among the storefronts and brick buildings downtown. The tour reveals a glimpse into several distinct eras of Lawrence's past. Your tour guide will be history teacher Andrew Morris. Tours meet outside the front […]
Your local American Red Cross is in urgent need of blood donations. Step up and save lives! The Watkins will host a blood drive on Tuesday, July 30. To make your lifesaving appointment, download and use the Blood Donor App, call 800-RED-CROSS, or visit RedCrossBlood.org.All donors receive a Fandango Movie Ticket code via email good […]
Join us on Wednesdays in July as Bon Bon holds East Lawrence History Salons at the Cider Gallery, featuring Dennis Domer and guests. Chef Simon Bates and Codi Bates have planned inspired evenings of food, drink, and conversation while raising funds to support the Embattled Lawrence book series. This is a continuation of the first […]
Your chance to own a beautiful piece of Lawrence history! This reproduction print is an early depiction of Lawrence, Kansas, in 1854-55. The framed and matted print measures 41.5 x 29". Tickets are $10 or 3 for $20. Enter as many times as you'd like. All ticket proceeds will go toward the Watkins Collections and […]
Step back in time to the thrilling, terrifying days of the Civil War. Local historian John Jewell will lead you on a downtown walking tour of sites and stories from William Quantrill's devastating raid on Lawrence in 1863, a defining event in the city's history. Tour goers get a free information packet full of maps, […]
Now in its 29th year, Civil War on the Border is Lawrence’s largest annual history event. This year’s theme is the Civil War in art. We’ll have special exhibits, talks with distinguished historians, bus and walking tours, and a display of the "Watkins Mystery Flag." Tickets for paid events are available via the links below. […]
Here is your chance to experience Quantrill's Raid in art, view a rarely seen artifact, and think like a museum curator! Get your tickets here or pay at the door. Art historian and Watkins Director Steve Nowak will provide a behind-the-scenes look at Art of Tragedy: Depictions of Quantrill's Raid. Additionally, you'll be able to view […]
About 75 flags from Kansas' involvement in the Civil War are in the collections of the Kansas Historical Society. Tattered and torn, these irreplaceable pieces of Kansas' past need your help. Boone Dodson, KHS curator, will speak on the long-running project to Save the Flags. Most flags in the collection represent various Kansas regiments, but […]
In their new book Zouave Theaters: Transnational Military Fashion and Performance, Carol E. Harrison and Thomas J. Brown chart the rise and fall of the Zouave uniform, the nineteenth century’s most important military fashion fad for men and women on both sides of the Atlantic. Originating in French colonial Algeria, Zouave fashion spread to America in […]
Our annual memorial service for the victims of Quantrill's Raid will be followed by a new presentation by clothing historian and tailor Eric Smallwood. Using original pieces from the collection of the Merchant Tailor Museum, Eric will discuss the evolution of menswear during the mid-1800s. This talk will be a follow-up to his highly popular […]
Military uniforms, badges, flags, and other material objects have been used to represent the identity of Americans throughout history. In her new book The Fabric of Civil War Society, Shae Smith Cox examines the material culture of America’s bloodiest conflict, offering a deeper understanding of the war and its commemoration. Join us on the Watkins Museum […]
The Watkins Museum offers an exciting way to experience the history of early Kansas! In this unique tour, you'll explore sites in Lawrence that witnessed the stirring events of Bleeding Kansas. This tour involves stopping and walking at three different locations. Those wishing to remain on the bus may do so. Sponsored by the Lawrence […]
Over three million Americans served in the Civil War, including twenty thousand Kansans. Join us in-person and online as historian Will Haynes tells stories of the adventures and harsh realities of soldier's lives. This presentation will quote from soldiers' eyewitness accounts and also feature original Civil War artifacts from the Watkins collection. This event is […]
Bring your kids age 5-10 for a class based on local history! Our first topic of the year will be "I am a Story" (personal and community storytelling). Topics will be explored using hands-on activities, art projects, and will be multisubject when appropriate. Parents may attend class, or this can be a drop off program. […]
This program will be held in-person and also livestreamed on the Watkins Museum Facebook and YouTube.
Hands-On History is a project-based educational program for middle and high school students aged 11 – 16 years. The program is cumulative and offers students the opportunity to create a unique exhibit display for summer 2025 in the Watkins Community Gallery. Content and lessons are adapted from the Facing History & Ourselves curriculum, and designed […]
Tiny Tours is a popular, free museum series for kids age 3-5 and their grownups. Activities offer a play-based approach to learning and include stories, crafting, and more! Register your child by contacting Education Coordinator Shannon Hodges at [email protected]
Bring your kids age 5-10 for a class based on local history! Topics will be explored using hands-on activities, art projects, and will be multisubject when appropriate. Parents may attend class, or this can be a drop off program. Class registrations may be purchased by the school year, September to May, or for individual classes. […]
Did you know you can find fossils just by walking through downtown? Learn this and more with Andy Connolly, educator at the Kansas Geological Survey, who will talk about the geology of Douglas County. This presentation will cover ancient oceans, glaciers, and ice age mammals (and a little bit of architecture to boot). You'll also […]
