LOCAL HISTORY
MEMORIALS AND MUSEUMS
Teachers set us on a better path, and Emporia is where many get their start. Once known as “the Athens of the Plains” for its colleges and Carnegie libraries, Emporia is home to the National Teachers Hall of Fame and the poignant National Memorial to Fallen Educators.
SCHMIDT MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY The Schmidt Museum of Natural History (1320 Merchant St., ESU Cram Science Hall Room 043) contains a comprehensive collection of approximately 600 taxidermy mounts of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish from Kansas. A research collection of more than 2,500 bird and mammal skins from various parts of the U.S. is maintained for advanced study and research.
PETERSON PLANETARIUM NATIONAL MEMORIAL TO FALLEN EDUCATORS
Open to students and the public, discover
Located next to Emporia State University’s One Room School Museum, the
Planetarium (1320 Merchant St., ESU Cram
National Memorial to Fallen Educators (12 W. 18th Ave., ESU Campus, nthf. org) is free to visit and open 24 hours a day. It is the first and only national memorial in the state of Kansas. The memorial commemorates educators who have lost their lives while serving in their professional roles.
NATIONAL TEACHERS HALL OF FAME The National Teachers Hall of Fame (1701 Morse Rd, ESU Visser Hall, nthf.org) recognizes and honors exceptional career teachers, encourages excellence in teaching and preserves the rich heritage of the teaching profession in the
the wonders of the universe in the Peterson Science Hall Room 031). Free shows play Thursday evenings and the second Saturday of each month.
JOHNSTON GEOLOGY MUSEUM See a western Kansas Cretaceous mosasaur, a giant ground sloth, a mastodon tusk plus other displays in the Johnston Geology Museum (1320 Merchant St., ESU cram Science Hall Room 106). The museum contains geological specimens predominantly from Kansas.
United States. The museum honors the teachers inducted and is a teacher resource center.
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