Museum of World Treasures, Wichita, Kansas

The Museum of World Treasures is a place to become educated and entertained. The museum is located in Wichita, Kansas. It was founded in 2001 to provide the town residents and visitors with a place to learn about cultures around the world, both past and present. The Museum of World Treasures is located east of downtown near the Old Town District. A number of restaurants, clubs, and theaters are also housed in the same area. After eight years the museum has grown with new exhibits.

Admission to the museum is $6.95 for children four to twelve, $7.95 for seniors age 60 and over, and $8.95 for adults. They also have a family day pass for four, which is $28.50. The museum is open Monday thru Saturday 10am to 5pm, and Sunday 12 to 5pm. The hours can be extended for group events.

The Museum of World Treasures is located in a three floor building. The first floor is divided into three sections: Cold War, Hall of Ancient Creatures, and Hall of Dinosaurs. Most of the displays will be of the Ancient World beginning with the dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are seen battling each other, like the Daspletosaurus and T-Rex going after the Edmontosaurus. The T-Rex on display has been named Ivan. Artifacts on the first floor include Roman, Greek, Egyptian, African, Pre-Columbian, Mesopotamian, Asian, and Etruscan. As visitors move from the dinosaurs they will enter the land of the cave men and Mesopotamia. Ancient weapons, gold jewelry, statues, pottery, sarcophagi, and 2 Royal Egyptian Mummies await visitors.

The second floor has even more treasures, including rotating exhibits. The rotating exhibits are displays on loan from other museums. Typically these exhibits travel from town to town and stay at major museums for a few months. The second floor of the Museum of World Treasures has the Hall of Military, Hall of Presidents, and Hall of Royalty. Much of the displays will be European Royalty from around the world, which includes royal gold jewelry, coins, swords, and autographs. Portraits date back to the 12th century. Once through the European Royalty there is the president's hall. Display items include pictures and treasures from colonial America to now. There is even a lock of George Washington's hair on display. Revolutionary War weapons are part of the exhibit. They also have WWI and WWII weapons. The rotating exhibit on the second floor is a Tribute to Black Aviation Pioneers.

On the third floor are the Hall of Hollywood Entertainers, Activity Center, Hall of Famous Performers, Hall of Frontier Life, and Hall of Historic Composers. There are five galleries with sports artifacts, celebrity collection, and much more. The sports artifacts belonged to stars like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Michael Jordan, and Muhammad Ali. The Hollywood Celebrities Collection offers images of John Wayne, checks, and autographs. It is fitting that the Frontier exhibit should also be there since John Wayne was known for western movies. The frontier exhibit depicts what life was like during the 1800's. The Children's Play area is place to be in a large castle, dungeon, on a moon walk, or even watch the puppet theater.