Museum of World Treasures is a world history museum in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, United States. Among the many items on display are ''

Tyrannosaurus ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosa ...

'', ''

Daspletosaurus ''Daspletosaurus'' ( ; meaning "frightful lizard") is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Laramidia between about 79.5 and 74 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. The genus ''Daspletosaurus'' contains three species ...

'', and ''

Tylosaurus ''Tylosaurus'' (from the ancient Greek (') 'protuberance, knob' + Greek (') 'lizard') is a genus of mosasaur, a large, predatory marine reptile closely related to modern monitor lizards and to snakes, from the Late Cretaceous. Description A ...

'' specimens (Including "Ivan the T. rex"), Egyptian

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

, signatures of all the

American presidents The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term via the Electoral College. The officeholder leads the executive branch of the federal government an ...

, a section of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, and a genuine

shrunken head A shrunken head is a severed and specially prepared human head that is used for trophy, ritual, or trade purposes. Headhunting has occurred in many regions of the world, but the practice of headshrinking has only been documented in the northwest ...

. The Museum of World Treasures is not limited to a particular era of history, but has opted to display a diverse collection representing many different fields of interest and a wide range of subjects. This museum is a member of the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, but is not accredited by the organization.

History

The museum first opened as the Museum of Ancient Treasures on April 22, 2001, at the Garvey Building in Downtown Wichita. The bulk of the exhibits were originally from the collection of the museum's founder, Dr. Jon Kardatzke. In less than a year, the size and diversity of the museum's collection had changed. It now consisted of over 30 individual private collections, and spanned numerous significant events and cultures from prehistory to the present. Spurred by the purchase of three complete fossil dinosaur skeletons, the museum was forced to look for a larger space to exhibit its vast and growing collection. The museum relocated to the "Farm and Art Market" in Old Town, Wichita, in 2003 and was renamed The Museum of World Treasures. The new location is a reconstructed three story warehouse that was completely renovated to house the expansive museum collection. There have now been over 300 collectors who have their items stored and on display as loans or donations at the Museum. The museum owns approximately 75% of the artifacts.

Layout

The three stories of the museum contain a diverse array of historical artifacts. Access to the separate floors can be obtained via a central spiral staircase, or the popular glass elevator that rises above the towering dinosaur exhibit. The first floor also contains the entry foyer and Museum Store.

First floor

The 1st floor of the museum focuses on fossils and ancient human history, as well as a room dedicated to geology. Exhibits of note are: *Ivan the T. rex - found by Alan Komrosky in 2007, this giant ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...

'' is about 65% fossil. When it was found, it had the most complete tail of any T. rex, with only three vertebrae missing. *"Sea Creatures of the Plains" - Showcasing Kansas Marine fossils, such as a 34 ft. ''

'', a ''

Xiphactinus ''Xiphactinus'' (from Latin and Greek for " sword-ray") is an extinct genus of large (Shimada, Kenshu, and Michael J. Everhart. "Shark-bitten Xiphactinus audax (Teleostei: Ichthyodectiformes) from the Niobrara Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of Kansas. ...

'', and a

mosasaur Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on th ...

. *Egyptian mummies - Female

from ancient Egypt *Coins of the Roman Emperors - A 50 ft. time line that showcases gold, silver, and bronze coins from nearly every Roman Emperor, as well as write-ups on their exploits and conquests. *World Civilizations -

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian,

Pre Columbian Pre or PRE may refer to: Places *Preston railway station, UK National Rail code PRE *Prince Edward station, on Hong Kong's MTR People *Steve Prefontaine (1951–1975), an American runner nicknamed "Pre" Arts, entertainment, and media *Pre (ba ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

Ancient Near East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...

showcases.

Second floor

The 2nd floor of the Museum focuses on military history, presidents, and royalty from around the world. Exhibits of note are: *More Than Darkness - Documents and artifacts from the Middle Ages. *A Touch of Classicism: Telling the Story of the Renaissance - A journey through the cultural phenomenon known as the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. *Military Gallery - Weaponry and artifacts from the Revolutionary War, the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(including a large scale recreation of

Trench Warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. *American Presidents Gallery - Contains the signature of every American president, as well as a replica of the famous

Resolute Desk The ''Resolute'' desk, also known as the Hayes desk, is a nineteenth-century partners desk used by several presidents of the United States in the White House as the Oval Office desk, including the five most recent presidents. The desk was a gi ...

Third floor

Cleopatra Marc Antony Night of the Living Museum MOWT

The exhibits on the 3rd floor feature an ensemble of material from American history. In addition, the top floor of the museum also has a large banquet room that can be rented out for private functions. Exhibits of note are: *All Are Not Free - features artifacts from the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

telling the story of life east of the Iron Curtain. *Ivan's PlayHouse - A kid-oriented play space with educational components. *Romancing the West - contains cowboys, Native Americans, frontier living,

the Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...

, and other Western artifacts. *Historic Composers and Music - features original manuscripts from

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, and

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

. *Kardatzke Historic Authors Collection - collections of famous historic authors and poets such as

Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...

and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. *Rentable Event Space - a large space that may be rented for weddings, dinners, meetings, and more.

Rotating exhibits

Some exhibits featured at the Museum of World Treasures are on display for a limited time.

Organization

The Museum of World Treasures is a not-for-profit

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...

Kansas corporation. The Museum is governed by a Board of Directors.

Programming

The museum focuses heavily on its mission to educate, entertain, and inspire with programs such as: * Camp-Ins * Educational Tours * Scout Programs * Community Outreach Programs * Educational Partnerships *Adult programming in the form of lectures and evening events

References

External links

Museum of World Treasures Home Site

{{Wichita History museums in Kansas Museums established in 2001 Museums in Wichita, Kansas