The Amazing Kansas Cosmosphere

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Apollo 13
Long-time readers know we've discussed the Kansas Cosmosphere -- generally thought to be the #2 space museum in the world -- on a number of occasions. Others are coming to that conclusion:

But museums are more than their artifacts. The most significant space artifacts lose their magic if they’re simply displayed in a warehouse without any context. That’s one of the problems with the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Museum, where most of the artifacts are displayed with little description and very little explanation of how they fit into a larger history of aircraft or space exploration. The Cosmosphere does an excellent job of putting its artifacts in context with highly attractive and informative displays.

Want to see the real Apollo 13? Check! Want to see Gus Grissom's capsule that sank and the dimes he carried aloft to give away as souvenirs that nearly caused him to sink? Check!

The article ends:

Go see for yourself, there really is a fantastic space museum in one of the last places you would expect it.

Here is the Cosmosphere's web site. There is also a terrific underground museum in Hutchison called Strataca which tells the story of the salt mines that story everything from important government papers to the original video tapes of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. -- Make it a weekend and visit the nearby Flint Hills.

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