Next time you’re near Hutchinson, Kansas, drop into the Cosmosphere, a museum and education center housing more than 13,000 U.S. and Russian space exploration artifacts.
The museum was established in 1962 as a public planetarium in a building on the Kansas State Fair Grounds. Thanks to multiple expansion campaigns and a move to Hutchinson Community College campus, the facility has expanded to over 100,000 square feet and now includes an exhibit gallery, classrooms for STEM-based school programs, and an IMAX Dome Theater. The Cosmosphere is also affiliated with the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum.
In the Cosmosphere, you’ll find a wide variety of family-friendly programming, including Dr. Goddard’s Lab – an interactive show that uses a variety of real-time experiments to explore the history of rockets. Daytime and over-night camps during the Summer give children an opportunity to learn deeply about various aspects of space travel. There’s even a three-day Astronaut Adventure camp for adults ages 21 and up who “love space.” Ongoing space-themed events and educational curriculum packages round out the programming.
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