The Magic of Things: 5 Continents, 25 Centuries, 125 Years of Collecting
“The Museum–a Necessity.”
Peter J. Wedel, Bethel College Monthly, April 1908
February 19-October 9, 2022
In the December 1896 issue of School and College Journal, students and friends of Bethel College announced the formation of a Museum of Natural History and American Relics. The collections were housed in the college’s Administration Building and faculty utilized the collections as teaching resources.
To celebrate the depth and breadth of what is now Kauffman Museum, the spring 2022 exhibition is titled “The Magic of Things: 5 Continents, 25 Centuries, 125 Years of Collecting.” Thirteen current and former staff have selected artifacts and animal specimens not on permanent display to illustrate their significance to the collectors and to the museum staff who worked with them.
Items in the exhibition range from a Mesopotamian cuneiform tablet from 2000 BCE to a Macintosh computer from 1986, a ngoma drum from a Zimbabwean healer to a 1914 Indian motorcycle, and a Red-sided Eclectus Parrot from New Guinea to a horse-drawn hearse last used at a funeral home in Goessel, Kansas.
EXHIBIT GALLERY
EXHIBIT THEMES
PUBLIC PROGRAMS
Lead curator Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen has organized some 100 artifacts and specimens by six themes:
- Art of Communication
- Power of Ritual
- More Speed
- Nature Study
- Stepping Out in Style
- Making a Home
Guest curators have written interpretive texts that explore the significance of their selections or reveal their personal connection to the items they chose.
Grand Opening
February 19, 2:30-4:30 pm: Come-and-go event with remarks by lead curator Reinhild K. Janzen at 3:00 pm
Sunday-Afternoon-at-the-Museum Programs, 3:00-4:00 pm, free to the public
March 6: “Ritual Markers of Life and Death in Uganda and Taiwan,” Reinhild K. Janzen | View recorded presentation
April 3: “Drums or Organ: Contesting Musical Styles in African Christianity,” John M. Janzen | View recorded presentation
May 22: “Collecting for College and Community: Past, Present and Future,” Rachel Pannabecker and David Kreider | View recorded presentation
GUEST CURATORS
EXHIBIT TEAM
Andi Schmidt Andres, Assistant to the Director-Director 1993-current staff
Steve Friesen, Museum Director 1976-1977
John M. Janzen, Museum Director 1983-1992
Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen, Curator of Cultural History 1983-1993
David Kreider, Builder-Museum Technician 1985-1988, 2000-current staff
Rachel Pannabecker, Collections Assistant-Museum Director 1984-2014
Dwight Platt, Natural History Advisor 1985-ongoing senior prairie consultant
Austin Prouty, Exhibition Assistant 2020-current staff
Bob Regier, Exhibit Designer 1985-ongoing senior design consultant
Chuck Regier, Builder-Curator of Exhibits 1985-current staff
Michael Reinschmidt, Museum Director 2018-2020
Kristin Schmidt, Museum Assistant 1999-current staff
Renae Stucky, Collections Manager 2016-2018
Andi Schmidt Andres: museum director
John Fast: visitor services coordinator
David Kreider: exhibit designer
Reinhild Kauenhoven Janzen: lead curator
Jim Mueller: installation volunteer
Rachel Pannabecker: exhibit developer
Austin Prouty: graphic designer
Chuck Regier: senior designer
Karen Schlabaugh: mailing coordinator
Merle Schlabaugh: German consultant
Kristin Schmidt: bookkeeper
Capri Stevenson-Bisom, Bethel College intern 2022: assistant preparator
Steve Kreider Yoder: installation volunteer
Pinyan Zhu, Chinese translator
“The Magic of Things” exhibition and programs are supported by the Kauffman Museum Association.
VISIT US
27th and North Main St.
North Newton, KS 67117
Across from the main campus of
Bethel College
CONTACT US
(316) 283-1612
kauffman@bethelks.edu
Mailing address:
300 E. 27th Street
North Newton, KS, 67117-1716
HOURS
Tue-Fri 9:30am-4:30pm
Sat-Sun 1:30pm-4:30pm
Closed Mondays and
Major Holidays