Since 2020, the Watkins Museum has hosted a series of events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1970s. Events related to the 1970s will be hosted throughout the city until 2029. These celebrations pay tribute to these important anniversaries, provide context by linking history to current community issues, and encourage people to share their memories […]
A great activity for kids up to age 10. Every Saturday at the Watkins is Scavenger Hunt Saturday: Drop by the museum to search for objects around the building and turn in your sheet for a fun prize!
Join us for a walking tour of Oak Hill Cemetery. We'll focus on the history of the cemetery and the trees present there. Also featured will be some discussion of survival prospects for the trees. Bring water and, if you need short rests, a lawn chair. Your tour guide will be Jon Standing. The tour […]
Watkins Summer Games are back! Every Wednesday in June and July from 10 AM-12 PM, kids and their grownups are invited to join us for fun and free games, crafts, and other activities. This year's Summer Games theme is Kansas geography!
Yes, we were known as Baghdad on the Kaw! Join Dr. Bob Dinsdale, local Lawrence history aficionado and tour leader, for a six-block walk through downtown Lawrence to learn about the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s that culminated in marches, riots, martial law, arson, and killings in our city of 45,000 souls. This […]
Part of the Lawrence Juneteenth Celebration: a popular bus tour developed by the Watkins Museum of History. Join us as we travel to historic sites in Lawrence and learn stories of heroism and tragedy from Lawrence's early days as an important place in the Underground Railroad and the fight for a free Kansas. We will board […]
One of the Watkins Museum's prize artifacts, our Milburn Light Electric Brougham has delighted and fascinated visitors for 50 years. Now you'll have a chance to get an exclusive look at this revolutionary automobile. Join us as on July 11 to meet members of the Antique Auto Club, learn how they painstakingly restored the Milburn […]
