Wichita has a diverse mix of museums, all with impressive collections and an ever-changing schedule of exhibitions. From showcasing new acquisitions or curating themed exhibits from their own collections to hosting special exhibitions traveling the country, there’s always something new to see at museums in the Heart of the Country.
Here’s a look at the latest exhibitions among museums in Wichita.
Exploration Place
Exploration Place is open daily.
Oct. 3-Jan. 4, 2026: “Ice Dinosaurs: The Lost World of Alaskan Arctic” – This traveling exhibit at Exploration Place takes visitors on an immersive journey through the seasons to uncover how newly discovered Arctic dinosaurs built families, dug burrows and adapted to survive in some of the planet’s harshest conditions. Built around groundbreaking research that’s reshaping what scientists know about these prehistoric creatures, the exhibit features touchable fossils on loan from the University of Alaska’s Museum of the North. Guests can get hands-on with interactive games, crawl through dinosaur tunnels, test their paleontology skills in a dig pit and snap photos worthy of a T. rex roar. With real fossils, museum-grade casts and plenty of opportunities to learn through play, "Ice Dinosaurs" proves that dinosaurs just got a whole lot cooler — literally. Regular museum hours and admission apply.
Ongoing: “Kansas: An Immersive Dome Experience” – Don’t miss this 25-minute dome movie produced by the Exploration Place team in partnership with local drone videographers. Filmed completely by drone, consider this a love letter to Kansas showcasing the beauty and wonder of the Sunflower State in a way never seen before. It shows daily in the Digital Dome Theater, along with “Laser Shows," "Animal Kingdom" and "Sea Otters: A Wild Family Adventure."
Check the center’s website for screening times and tickets; attending a dome show does not require a museum admission ticket.
Wichita-Sedgwick Co. Historical Museum
The Wichita-Sedgwick Co. Historical Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday and offers free general admission from 1 to 5 p.m. every Sunday in 2025.
Ongoing
Nov. 1-16: "Wichita's Guitar Heroes: Electric Guitars From the Museum's Collection" – This exhibit features the electric guitars of notable local musicians that reside in the Museum’s permanent collection. On view are the electric guitars of Bill Goffrier, Berry Harris, Ralph Krenzer, Clif Major, Pat McJimsey, Henry Walker, Marce Reyes, Shark Shelton, Bud Victory, Joe Walsh, Bob Wiley, and Johnny Western.
Added to "Spirit of Wichita" Gallery: "The Gage Brewer Guitar - First Electric Guitar" – Wichita’s unique connection to the history of the electric guitar is explored in the Museum’s feature exhibit, The Spirit of Wichita, which features guitars from the Museum’s permanent collection. Central to this story is guitarist and orchestra leader Gage Brewer, who in 1932 is credited with staging the world’s debut of the electric guitar. On temporary exhibit, in The Spirit of Wichita, the Museum adds Brewer’s Spanish Electric guitar used in the debut performances. It has been widely recognized as the oldest existing standard (Spanish) electric guitar, appearing in publications worldwide.
Nov. 20-December 2025: "Moore Family Toy Santa Collection" – In the lobby of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum, from the Wreath Festival through the New Year, visitors will find the Moore Family Santa Dolls on display. As a yearly tradition that's continued for the last 18 years, the Museum has exhibited a small selection of the Moore's collection -- which is about 150 in total -- for the public to admire. These antique Santas come in various sizes, colors, and expressions. It's hard to pick a favorite! Santa Claus has long served as a Christmas icon. By the 20th century, Santa Claus had become so popular that many diverse toy manufacturers interpreted his likeness for a variety of uses. Most of the plush toy Santa figures featured in this exhibit date from the 1950s and 60s. Some figures are made of molded plastic, cast metal, rubber, or papier-mache and date earlier in the 20th century.
Nov. 20-December 2025: "Miniature Christmas Trees" – Starting with the Wreath Festival and lasting through to the New Year, the Museum maintains its holiday decorating tradition with garlands and ornaments strewn over the stairs and through the second floor. There, in the West Gallery, visitors will find an exhibit of miniature Christmas trees, created by Wichita artist Sylvia Jackson. With incredible detail and creativity, these trees may serve as inspiration for any Christmas enthusiast. This private collection of hand-decorated trees has been loaned to the Museum for the holiday season by the artist herself, Sylvia Jackson. Beginning in the 1970s, with the creation of two Victorian-style trees for her sons, the collection has grown as new trees have been designed and displayed during the annual Trees of Christmas event at the First Church of the Nazarene. May the many joys of the season be yours as you share the charm of this very personal collection.
Nov. 20-December 2025: "Victorian Cottage Christmas" – A featured exhibit of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum includes “A Wichita Cottage.” This exhibit authentically recreates a typical middle-class Wichita home of the late 19th century, complete with Victorian adornment and the emerging technology that would soon change domestic life and society in general. Seven individual rooms compose this environmental exhibit. Visit and pay a social call on the residents of a Wichita cottage, this 1890 Victorian house is authentically decorated throughout, from the wooden icebox on the back porch to the combination gas–and–electric ceiling light fixture hanging in the parlor. Located on the third floor, starting during our annual Wreath Festival and going through to the New Year, the immersive Victorian Cottage exhibit has been decked out for Christmas jubilation. Visitors will get a glimpse of how people celebrated the season over 100 years ago. All that’s missing is a roaring fire and a cup of hot cocoa!
Through March 2026: “Portraits from the Museum’s Collection” – The urge to create or possess a visual representation of a specific person – a portrait - is present throughout history. Portraits are created for many reasons: from sentimental to celebratory, for public or private viewing, as memorials and as icons. Until the introduction of photography 1840s, portraits were rendered by artists in both two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings and sculptures. The Museum’s collection includes a variety of portraits, most of which depict local people. In this exhibition we learn of portraiture and the people portrayed.
Through 2026: “Being Modern” – This exhibition follows (and is directly patterned after) the museum’s previous exhibit, “Art Deco on the Plains.” It takes the timeline forward to explore modern design experienced locally in the 1950s and 1960s. It is a feature of the Lois Kay Walls Local Visual Art History Series.
CityArts
Admission is free at CityArts.
On view October 31 - December 21, 2025:
- "A Family Affair III Student and Instructor Biennial" by various artists – all galleries
On view through December 31, 2025:
- "Detour Wichita: A Retrospective Trip Through the City’s Live Entertainment History" by Alex Freund - Front Desk Wall
Envision Arts Gallery and Community Engagement Center
Admission is free at the Envision Arts Gallery and Community Engagement Center.
Oct. 3-Nov. 8: “A Renaissance Story by Lauren Bush” – Lauren embodies all her creative skills and techniques as she tells this renaissance era story with her dolls, period piece clothing and small sets while utilizing stop motion animation video to depict this ever so tragic love story. Raised in Wichita, she has been actively involved with Envision since childhood. Through various programs, she learned vital skills like Braille and navigating public transport, fostering her independence. Participation in Envision's Level Up Assistive Technology Camp and Golf Clinic has significantly enhanced her quality of life.
Oct. 17-Nov. 11: “Reflections: Seeing Beyond the Surface” – The 2nd Annual Veteran Art Exhibition held in cooperation with the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center. Veteran artists and authors creatively answer the question: "how you wish to be seen?"
Nov. 29-Dec. 13: “10th Annual Holiday Market” – Get into the Christmas spirit and shop for handmade goods created by artists with disabilities at the 10th Annual Envision Arts Holiday Market. Featuring the work of the Envision Arts Program and other organizations serving individuals with disabilities.
Mid-America All-Indian Museum
Mid-America All-Indian Museum (MAAIM) is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Ongoing
“Jerome Tiger” – This exhibition features artwork created by Jerome Richard Tiger (1941-1967), an accomplished Muscogee Creek/Seminole artist from Oklahoma. He left behind a remarkable legacy through his prolific paintings. MAAIM takes great pride in showcasing his delicate, one-of-a-kind style of artwork.
"Home” – An exhibit of items from the museum’s permanent collection that remind us of home; dedicated to those who were forcibly removed from their homes.
Nov. 22-Jan. 4, 2026: “Americans” – Americans is based on the exhibition of the same name currently on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). Curated by Paul Chaat Smith (Comanche) and Cécile R. Ganteaume, the exhibit uncovers the many ways American Indian images, names, and stories have been part of the nation’s identity since before the country began. Americans uses historical photographs and objects representative of those in the Smithsonian's collection to tell their stories. This Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition is presented by Humanities Kansas.
Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks, Pool Hall, 1950, printed 2017, gelatin silver print, 8 3/8 x 12 in., Kansas State University, Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, gift of Gordon Parks and the Gordon Parks Foundation, 2017.445. Image courtesy of and copyright by the Gordon Parks Foundation.
Wichita Art Museum
The Wichita Art Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday. Admission to WAM is free all year to everyone. Only special exhibitions will have a ticket price and those will be noted here.
Ongoing:
Through Nov. 30, 2025: “Little Black Dress at 100” – In honor of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Coco Chanel’s groundbreaking little black dress, this exhibition features Little Black Dresses drawn from the collections of the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum and the K-State Historic Costume and Textile Museum. Little Black Dress at 100 showcases examples by high-end designers as well as affordable, everyday versions, all worn by Kansas women.
Through Dec. 20, 2025: “(im)permanent collection” – Visit again and again to experience this ever-changing exhibition. It features the museum’s prized collection (more than 10,000 artworks the museum owns) – which is anything but permanent.
Through Jan. 11, 2026: “Now and Then: From the Studio of Kathleen Shanahan” – Wichita-based artist Kathleen Shanahan explores “all the gritty relationships possible” in her mix media canvases—both in the shrewd and slippery visual links she creates and in her investigation of sensory contrasts. This exhibition reunites early examples of her art with recent projects, inviting viewers to chart the “gritty relationships” in her work.
Through March 22, 2026: “Upside Down, Topsy-Turvy, and In-Between: Images of the Carnival and Circus from the Wichita Art Museum” – This exhibit features images of the carnival and circus, what historians have called “the world between” and “the world standing on its head,” from the last century of American art.
Through May 31, 2026: “Framed in Friendship: American Women Artists and Their Networks” – Featuring paintings of women by women, this exhibit celebrates the relationships between women artists in the 19th and 20th centuries—bonds of professionalism, friendship, family and romance.
Through March 21, 2027: “Seeing America: Regionalism and American Scene Painting From The Swope Art Museum” – In the 1930s and 1940s, many United States artists turned their back on European modern art trends and instead turned their attention to American life. Rather than painting abstract nudes or Parisian city scenes, artists looked to their own country’s downtowns and farm fields to create accessible images that would appeal directly to the American people. Whether celebrating or critiquing the country, these artists painting “the American scene” all wanted to make art grown from the nation’s grassroots—not just a second-rate imitation of European art.
Through Oct. 23, 2027: “Confluence” – The museum installed a new, site-specific commission by sculptor John Douglas Powers. “Confluence” brings the magic of the tallgrass prairie to the WAM galleries. Comprised of 700 vertical rods swaying rhythmically like prairie grasses in the wind, the exhibit is a mesmerizing kinetic sculpture. Video projections of awe-inspiring Flint Hills skyscapes complete the installation.
Mark Arts
Mark Arts galleries are open and free to explore Tuesday through Saturday.
Oct. 9-Dec. 13: “Wichita National All Craft Media” – Mark Arts is pleased to present the Wichita National All Craft Media Exhibition, a historic show featuring diverse works by artists across the country. Founded in 1945, the exhibition celebrates both traditional and innovative techniques using the discipline of craft media to communicate the artist’s vision.
Nov. 14-Jan. 17, 2026: “St. Thomas Aquinas Elementary School” – The Youth Gallery celebrates the creativity and imagination of young artists throughout the greater Wichita area. This dedicated exhibition space is specifically designed to showcase artwork created by students 18 years old and younger. By highlighting the artistic achievements of children and teens, the Youth Gallery nurtures the next generation of creatives and reinforces the value of arts education in our community.
Ulrich Museum
The galleries at the Ulrich Museum of Art offer free admission.
Through Dec. 6: “Abhidnya Ghuge” – Ghuge installed a monumental piece at the Ulrich Museum of Art, created with approximately 10,000 woodblock-prints and wired infrastructure. Her practice involves printing onto and manipulating paper plates as a conceptual mode and is inspired by the ephemeral nature of the human experience. As the disposable paper plate is recontextualized into a valuable object or treasure within her installations, Ghuge urges audiences to reflect on the value of human life, a woman’s life in particular, and to acknowledge power and potential in ourselves and others. Her intricate works are meditations on social and cultural dichotomies, while encouraging close-looking, deep introspection, and being present.
Through Dec. 6: “Everything Must Go: Justin Favela’s Closeout Blowout Re-Grand Opening” – Born in Las Vegas, Justin Favela is renowned for his large-scale installations in cartonería, the traditional Mexican art of piñata making. Favela celebrates his heritage and identity while reflecting on themes of Latinidad, cultural appropriation, and art history. By reflecting on the intersections of tradition and contemporary culture, Favela challenges the ways Latine identity is represented, commodified, and misunderstood in North American cultural spaces, inviting the viewers to reconsider notions of authenticity, value, and artistic ownership.
This exhibition at the Ulrich Museum of Art marks a significant moment in Favela's career. After over a decade of working with prominent cultural institutions, the artist is taking a step back to reflect on how he wants to continue engaging with the art field. Everything Must Go: Justin Favela's Closeout Blowout Re-Grand Opening will be his final exhibition before entering a creative hiatus, offering a chance to pause, look back, and dream forward.
The installation is composed of over one hundred piñatas, each representing an exhibition from Favela's career. Surrounding them are vibrant dreamscape murals that visualize the artist's hopes, futures, and internal landscapes. In a gesture of collaboration and regional connection, Favela has hired piñata artisans from cities along the route between Las Vegas and Wichita. As he journeys to Kansas, he will stop in each city to pick up the handmade piñatas—each one a symbol of shared labor, movement, and community.
Through Dec. 6: “The Ulrich Co-Lab: Getting Personal” – The Ulrich Co-Lab is a visitor-centered curatorial experiment where Ulrich encourages visitors to share their thoughts, feelings and responses to our permanent collection. Selected objects will be displayed at the Ulrich from August through December 2025. All objects will be returned to their owners in January 2026. You may choose to share your story anonymously or with your name — it’s entirely up to you! The goal of this final phase of the Ulrich Co-Lab is to gather and share the histories of our community, fostering connections and empathy as we reflect on our shared present and past.
Visit these pages to discover more about Wichita area museums and galleries. If you’re looking for other things to do in Wichita, check out our calendar of events and download the latest visitor guide for more inspiration.
