"Deutsche Weihnachtslieder/German Hymn Sing" - Drs. William Eash, Merle Schlabaugh and Karen Schlabaugh, professors emeritus, Bethel College
2024-12-01 15:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
More information to come!

First Saturday Bird Walk
2024-12-07 08:00 - 09:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and winter weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.

Five Places of Christmas
2024-12-07 10:00 - 15:00 | KS
Newton-area museums welcome the public to “Five Places of Christmas” from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7. The annual holiday open house is a collaborative event among the Carriage Factory Art Gallery, Harvey County Historical Museum, Kauffman Museum, Warkentin House, and Bethel College Women’s Association (Luyken Fine Arts Center, Bethel College campus). This year, Kauffman Museum will offer museum exhibits and gift shop discount tables. All participating locations will be open with free admission. Be sure to contact each site for its COVID and safety requirements.

Book Reading and Discussion: David Janzen, "Once Upon a Time There Was a Three-Year-Old Grandpa"
2024-12-08 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This event will include a reading, discussion, and book signing by the author.
ABOUT THE BOOK: This eccentric title recalls a collection of tales first told to grandchildren at bedtime. Each chapter begins with a fun-to-read farmer-boy story from the 1940s, an era before industrial farming when horses, cows, and chickens were still members of the family. These anecdotes each launch a theme that splashes down with further development in later decades of life. Diverse topics include imaginative play, construction crew humor, animal intelligence, contemplative prayer and journal writing, rural and urban farming, communal wisdom, and affordable housing, along with a few serious pranks and the prophetic mischief that follows. This memoir is also a confession in the pattern of Augustine, reflecting on God’s in-breaking initiatives and the writer’s emerging sense of calling in lifelong conversation with Jesus. Its stories offer a series of curiosity-driven on-ramps into eight decades of transformative experiences for curious souls to ponder an open-eyed faith and a communal way of life for the long haul.
ABOUT DAVID: David Janzen is a member of Reba Place Fellowship in Evanston, Illinois. He has worked as a teacher, affordable housing developer, refugee asylum program manager, and nurturer of the latest generation of Christian intentional communities. He is the author of several publications on Christian community leadership, including The Intentional Christian Community Handbook and Seven Radical Elders.

76th Halstead-Newton Christmas Bird Count
2024-12-14 06:30 - 17:30 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Beginning Time: 6:45 AM
Meeting place: Kauffman Museum, North Newton
Lunch: in the field, or at Kauffman Museum, 12 – 1 PM
Compilation with coffee and snacks: 4:30-5:30 PM

Documentation: You will receive clipboards with hard copy documentation. E-bird also provides accurate support for the count. Feel free to use it and submit accompanying data reports if you wish.

Feeder watching is available for those of you who wish to participate from home. A packet with instructions and documentation information is available.
Join us at the museum, for post-CBC Coffee and Snacks and Compilation at 4:45 PM in the museum auditorium.

Image by Bob Regier

First Saturday Bird Walk
2025-01-04 08:00 - 09:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and late fall weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!

Free and open to the public.

Image of Tufted Titmice by Bob Regier

Stargazing with Newton Public Library and Humanities Kansas
2025-01-10 19:00 - 20:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Join astronomy enthusiasts from Newton Public Library as they trot out the NPL telescopes (available for checkout!) west of the Museum on Friday, January 10, as we gaze into the winter sky and enjoy the poems and illustrations of Written in the Stars, a new poetry chapbook produced and distributed by Humanities Kansas! These chapbooks are free and yours for the taking!
Join us under the night sky at Kauffman Museum!

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: "A Mennonite Sojourn in Central Asia, 1880-1935," John Sharp, professor of history (retired), Hesston College
2025-01-12 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Recently retired historian and former Hesston College professor John E. Sharp will talk about the migration of 100 families from the Russian Empire to Turkistan in Central Asia in the early 1880s. John will show photos and tell stories gathered during years of research and multiple tours exploring The Great Trek migration. At a time when waves of Mennonites were COMING to North America, a small group followed a dream to settle in Central Asia instead. Hear about their arduous experiences along the Silk Roads in modern day Uzbekistan and the welcome they received from local Muslims. How Mennonites lived in harmony with their Muslim neighbors is an inspiring story!
Presentation will conclude with photos of the exhibits in the new Mennonite museum in Khiva.

Celebrate Kansas Day! - At Home on the Range
2025-01-25 12:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Celebrate Kansas Day! at Kauffman Museum. Mark your calendars for this free Kansas Day event at Kauffman Museum, happening on Saturday, January 25, 2025 from 12:00–4:00pm.
SCHEDULE:
Food in the Museum Parking Lot, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Le-J’s BBQ • Tacos El Poderoso • Shalom Mennonite Youth • Sage & Juliette Coffee
Activities in and around Kauffman Museum
In the Museum auditorium
• 1 p.m. – Stories in Songs: Music on the Range: Queen Jack Jericho, bluegrass and folk band
• 2 p.m. – Unlocking Your House’s Story: How to Research the History of Your Home: Kristine Schmucker, Curator, Harvey County Historical Museum
• 3 p.m. – El Ranchito, La Casitas y La Yarda: The History of Santa Fe Housing for Mexican Laborers in Kansas, 1905-1960: Raymond Olais, retired art educator, Newton High School
Indoor Activities and Artist Demonstrations
“At Home on the Range” Scavenger Hunt
Teepee-building
“Your Home” Paper Collages
Kansas Symbol Magnet Craft
Pioneer Dress-up
Mini Log Cabins
Reading Corner
Play-doh Adobe Bricks
Wheat Sorting
“Welcome Wagons” Edible Craft
Outdoor Activities, Crafts and Demonstrations
Fire Safety Trailer • Buffalo Chip Tic Tac Toe • Prairie Dog Corn Hole • Native American Teepee • Blacksmith Bill Moffet • Rope Making • Branding Station • Corn Shelling • Popcorn Popping • Vintage Washing Machines • Old-fashioned Schoolyard Games • Historic Farmhouse • Log Hewing
Petting Zoo
Horse-drawn Wagon Rides
Lego Set Raffle – drawing at 4 p.m.
Health Ministries Mobile Medical Clinic

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: "Free Did Not Mean Welcome," Dr. Carmaletta Williams, Chief Executive Officer of The Black Archives of Mid-America
2025-02-09 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
This program will be available to watch via Zoom. You can join by clicking here.
Millions of African Americans walked away from the South after Emancipation looking for freedom. For some it meant a journey to Kansas, believing “free state” meant free of racial discrimination. Discover how many realized that for Black people in Kansas “free” did not necessarily mean “welcome.”
Dr. Williams is a former professor of English and African American studies at Johnson County Community College. She is currently the executive director of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City.
“Free Did Not Mean Welcome” is part of Humanities Kansas’s Speakers Bureau and “21st Century Civics,” a collection of resources that invite Kansans to participate in community discussions and learn more about the history of American democracy and the shared responsibilities of citizenship. “21st Century Civics” is made possible with support from “A More Perfect Union: America at 250,” an initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Programming assistance courtesy Humanities Kansas Speakers Bureau program.

First Saturday Bird Walk
2025-03-01 08:00 - 09:00 | KS
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and early spring weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.
Image courtesy of Bob Regier

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: "The Impact of Immigration on Mennonite Churches Today," Michelle Armster, director, MCC Central States, and Heidi Regier Kreider, conference pastor, Western District Conference
2025-03-30 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Join us on Sunday, March 30 at 3 pm at the Kauffman Museum auditorium and Michelle Armster, director of MCC Central States, and Heidi Regier Kreider, conference pastor of Western District conference, give a presentation titled “The Impact of Immigration on Mennonite Churches Today.” This Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum program is free and open to the public.
Armster and Regier Kreider will offer a theological and biblical context for considering immigration, and explore the ways their faith-based organizations have been shaped by immigration and are responding to immigration-related concerns.

First Saturday Bird Walk
2025-04-05 07:00 - 08:00, 2025-05-03 07:00 - 08:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and spring weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.
Digital artwork by Bob Regier

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: "Re-membering the 1870s Migration," John Thiesen, Co-director of Libraries / Archivist, Mennonite Library & Archives at Bethel College
2025-04-13 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
The popular understanding of the immigration of Mennonites from the Russian Empire to the Plains states in the 1870s has a rather weak relationship to the actual events of the 1870s. It is only natural that a popularized explanation of the story would be very abbreviated and rather formulaic, compared to a more in-depth examination. Many of the themes that usually appear in popular accounts are at best half-truths. The story of Mennonites bringing winter wheat is probably the most widely known stereotype. Others might include an exaggerated sense that the immigration process was unified and well-organized the lack of a sense of the context into which migration entered. Unpacking some of these stereotypes can broaden our understanding of the 1870s migration and identify other unexplored aspects of the story.

Faspa: Mennonite Charcuterie
2025-05-04 16:30 - 18:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Join us for our annual spring celebration, including food and a raffle. Faspa: we’ve been doing it for years!
Details and registration here!

Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum: "Stories of Mexican Migration to Kansas," Valerie Mendoza, Historian and Lecturer, Kansas City Kansas Community College
2025-05-11 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Stories of Mexican Migration to Kansas explores how and why immigrants from Mexico came to Kansas. Different waves of immigration to various parts of the state from the early 20th century to the present are discussed. The discussion focuses on community formation and culture. Valerie Mendoza weaves in stories from her own family experience. This includes name changes, curanderas, a 40-year-old tradition and NASA. These lived experiences show how her family members–immigrants and children of immigrants– have been trailblazers, culture bearers and firsts. Come and be inspired to learn stories of your own families and their immigrant experiences!

Film Premiere: "Where the Cottonwoods Grow"
2025-06-01 15:00 - 17:00 | Krehbiel Auditorium at Bethel College, 300 E 27th St, NORTH NEWTON, KS, 67117, United States
Join Kauffman Museum at Krehbiel Auditorium on Bethel College campus for the American premier of “Where the Cottonwoods Grow,” a Canadian film commemorating the migration of Mennonites from South Russia to Manitoba in the 1870s, bringing to life stories of loss, resilience, and cultural identity. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for youth (ages 6-16). Tickets are limited and can be purchased through Bethel College by clicking here: “Where the Cottonwoods Grow” Ticket Purchases.
This event marks the conclusion of Kauffman Museum’s extended special exhibition, “Unlocking the Past: Immigrant Artifacts & the Stories They Tell.” The museum will open at 1:30 pm and will remain open until 6:00 pm.

First Saturday Bird Walk
2025-06-07 07:00 - 08:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and early summer weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.
Digital artwork by Bob Regier

Uncle Carl's Camp: Let's Play Prairie Animals
2025-06-09 09:00 - 2025-06-13 11:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
June 9-13, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. | Age: 4 to 5 (not yet in kindergarten)
Let’s play, sing and read about prairie animals! We’ll learn about the buffalo, Western Meadowlark, honeybee and more. What do these animals like to eat? How do they move? Let’s explore together.We’ll spend time outside as well as inside, so come ready to play!
Application deadline: June 6
Maximum enrollment: 16
$70 per museum member / $85 per non-member
Instructor:
Amy Regier
USD 373, Newton, KS
Register here!

Friends of the Museum Sale
2025-06-21 08:00 - 12:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Kauffman Museum announces the Friends of the Museum sale of antiques, vintage items and art on Saturday, June 21, 8:00–12:00, at the museum’s front entrance, auditorium and special exhibit gallery.
PRICED ITEMS include the following and much more!

early 1970s Makonde “Tree of Life” sculpture from Mozambique
Makkum Delft blue ceramics
1970s Franciscan “Jamoca” dinner set & Madeira “Smoke” glassware
Marvin Bartel stoneware tea set
early 1960s Angkor Wat Cambodia temple rubbing
1890s demitasse cup and saucer of Soldiers’ Home, Leavenworth, Kansas
collection of books and collectibles on US presidents
19th century Ashkana Chiy screen of reeds and wool from Kyrgyzstan
unique items from central and south Africa, India, Paraguay and the Netherlands

Prices range from $1.00 to $10,000.00–something for everyone!
Mark-down and make-an-offer begin at 11:00.
“O GIVE ME A HOME” odds and ends cart where you decide the price!
SILENT AUCTION 8:00–10:30 (minimum bid $25.00, all items “as is”)

Thomsberger & Hermann ceramic canister set, Colditz, Germany
Russian outdoor/picnic samovar with brass detailing
1984 Boehm porcelain whooping crane sculpture (#40254 limited edition)
Child’s sable fur coat with label in Russian
1870s-80s Poland cast iron stove
Congo mask collected in the early 1970s
Two Bethel College Administration Building Banks, ca.1935

Cash, check or credit/debit cards (Discover, MasterCard, Visa). Prices include Kansas sales tax. All proceeds benefit Kauffman Museum.

Uncle Carl's Camp: A Day in the Life of a Bug
2025-06-23 09:00 - 2025-06-27 11:30 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
June 23-27, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. | Age: 6 to 8 (Completed Grade K-2)
Bugs, bugs, and more bugs – come ready to learn about a bug’s life! Each day you will explore bugs through a lesson or a craft. The last day you will build a bug hotel to take home.
“The smallest creatures often hold the key to the grandest mysteries of our ecosystems.” – Rachel Carson

Application deadline: June 20
Maximum enrollment: 16
$70 per museum member / $85 per non-member
Instructor:
Aaron Voth
USD 373, Newton, KS
Register here!

Uncle Carl's Camp: Watercolor My World 1
2025-06-30 09:00 - 2025-07-03 11:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
June 30-July 3, 9 a.m.-11:00 a.m. | Age: 6 to 8 (Completed Grade K-2)
Explore a variety of techniques for working with watercolors. Campers will use objects from Kauffman Museum exhibits as subjects for their artwork. Come paint your world!

Application deadline: June 27
Maximum enrollment: 16
$70 per museum member / $85 per non-member
Instructor:
LaDonna Unruh Voth
USD 373, Newton, KS
Register here!

First Saturday Bird Walk
2025-07-05 07:00 - 08:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and summer weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.
Digital artwork by Bob Regier

Uncle Carl's Camp: Watercolor My World 2
2025-07-07 09:00 - 2025-07-11 11:30 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
July 7-11, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. | Age: 9 to 12 (Completed Grade 3-6)
Discover a variety of techniques for working with watercolors. Drawing from observation, campers will use nature and objects from the museum exhibits as subjects for their artwork. Come paint your world!

Application deadline: July 3
Maximum enrollment: 16
$70 per museum member / $85 per non-member
Instructors:
LaDonna Unruh Voth
USD 373, Newton, KS
Register here!

First Saturday Bird Count
2025-08-02 07:00 - 08:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States

First Saturday Bird Walk
2025-09-06 07:00 - 08:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and early fall weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.
Digital artwork by Bob Regier

Kauffman Museum Annual Meeting
2025-09-21 15:00 - 16:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
We’re having a four-for-one event on Sunday, September 21. Plan to join us for our Annual Business Meeting, the ribbon cutting for our newly renovated restrooms, and the grand opening of Voices of Conscience: Peace Witness and the Great War, a traveling exhibit returning to KM for the first time since 2017.
In conjunction with the opening of Voices of Conscience, Kauffman Museum will host a public program given by Dr. Chuck Epp, distinguished professor at the School of Public Affairs and Administration, University of Kansas, Lawrence. The program is titled “Conscientious Objection to Draft Registration in the 1980s.”
Chuck Epp’s academic research focuses on law, social change and administrative reform on civil rights and climate change. He has just completed a major study of environmental groups’ successful campaign to shift electricity generation from coal to wind and solar power. His book on the campaign, titled Challenging Power (currently under peer review) shows how environmental groups built a coalition of over a thousand organizations and coordinated broad popular pressure, litigation, and scientific testimony across all fifty states and numerous federal agencies and courts to block hundreds of proposed coal plants and shut down hundreds more. In addition to Challenging Power, he is the author of numerous journal articles and several award-winning books published by the University of Chicago Press: The Rights Revolution: Lawyers, Activists, and Supreme Courts in Comparative Perspective (1998); Making Rights Real: Activists, Bureaucrats, and the Creation of the Legalistic State (2009); and Pulled Over: How Police Stops Define Race and Citizenship (2014, co-authored with Steven Maynard-Moody and Donald Haider-Markel). Epp’s research has been supported by multiple grants from the National Science Foundation. He has received major awards for teaching and mentoring, has served on the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the Law & Society Association, and is co-editor of the University of Chicago Press Series in Law & Society.

Fall Fest Bird Walk
2025-10-04 08:00 - 09:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Our First Saturday Bird Walks depart from the kiosk in the museum parking lot for a mile-and-a-half hike through Chisholm Park and along Sand Creek Trail. Be prepared for some unpaved/steep terrain and fall weather. Binoculars and a bird book are recommended but not required. Children accompanied by an adult are welcome but should be able to remain quiet so they don’t scare away the birds!
Free and open to the public.
Digital artwork by Bob Regier

Fall Fest 2025: "The Organ Still Sings," Roseann Penner Kaufman and Donna Hetrick
2025-10-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Kauffman Museum, 27th & Main St., North Newton, KS, 67117, United States
Roseann Penner Kaufman and Donna Hetrick will explore music in the Gesangbuch mit Noten, a hymnal published by the General Conference of the Mennonite Church of North America in Berne, IN in 1890. The copy of this hymnal belonging to Wilhelmina Van der Smissen, who donated the organ to Bethel College in 1910, was recently found at an estate sale and will be displayed. This organ continues to create music today just as it has since 1750.
