Kauffman Museum

05/20/2026

The Uncle Carl's Camp shirts have arrived! Want one for your kiddo? Register them for a camp session.

🖥 - kauffmanmuseum.org/uncle-carls-camp/

05/12/2026

We at Kauffman Museum want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of you that participated in our Faspa: Mennonite Charcuterie spring fundraiser. We are so grateful for the support of our community. With your help, Kauffman Museum will continue to explore Mennonite stories well into the future.

THANK YOU!

05/09/2026

Our Pre-Summer Sale ends on Sunday!

Stop by for 20% on all KM Store items, and if you're a member, you can tack on your additional 10% discount FOR THIS SALE ONLY!

See you this weekend at the museum!

05/08/2026

From KM collections manager Kris Schmucker comes a story about one of the Kauffman Museum mannikins:

Museums often use mannikins to display clothing and set a scene. At Kauffman we have the wooden mannikins made by Charles Kauffman in the log cabin exhibit. Their frozen, blank faces can be intimidating to our younger visitors.

One mannikin in the museum served a higher purpose than displaying clothing or adding to an exhibit. Her story is quite interesting.

In the late 19th century, Mrs. Martha J. Chase had a problem to solve. She wanted to provide children with a doll that looked natural, was tough enough to be played with and easy to keep clean. In 1899, she had created a doll with flexible joints using a specific kind of cloth that felt more like skin. As the dolls became popular, Mrs. Chase established her own company, the M.J. Chase & Co.

The dolls came to the attention of Lauder Sutherland, the principal of the Haretford Training School for Nurses in Connecticut. Nursing schools had been using straw-filled dummies to teach nurses to give basic care. Sutherland asked Mrs. Chase if she could design a doll to be used for nursing students. Chase created a doll that was 5’4” with jointed limbs. The flexibility and size of the doll and the material used as ‘skin’ gave students more of the feel of an actual human patient. Students learned how to dress, turn, transfer and change bed linens using the doll affectionately known as “Mrs. Chase.”

In 1914, Mrs. Chase demonstrated her doll at a nursing convention in St. Louis which led to the doll being used nationwide in nursing programs. Mrs. Martha Chase died in 1925, her company continued to produce the dolls into the 1980s.

Did you have a “Mrs. Chase” doll in your nursing class? What was that like?

05/07/2026

The last four Uncle Carl's Camp sessions are filling, so be sure to get your kids registered soon! Follow the link to explore the camp offerings and register.

OPEN SESSIONS:

Prairie Pals
June 15-19, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. | Age: 4 to 5 (Preschool)

Exploring Printmaking I
June 22-26, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. | Age: 6 to 8 (Completed Grade K-2)

Exploring Printmaking II
June 29-July 3, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. | Age: 9 to 12 (Completed Grade 3-6)

Beginning Sewing
July 6-10, 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. | Age: 9 to 11 (Completed Grade 3-5)

Intermediate Sewing
July 6-10, 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. | Age: 11 to 14 (Completed Grade 5-8 or above)

See you at the museum!

Uncle Carl’s Camp is designed for discovery, exploration & creativity. Come explore new and old worlds with us! About "Uncle Carl" Charles Kauffman, fondly known as Uncle Carl, brought his museum from South Dakota to North Newton, KS in 1940. He spent the next eighteen years bringing history and t...

05/06/2026

Just a quick reminder that our pre-summer store sale is on now! The sale ends May 10.

Kauffman Museum Pre-Summer Sale! This is BIG!

We invite you to shop at the Kauffman Museum Store, Tuesday-Sunday May 5-10 for our Pre-Summer Sale! Everything in the store will be 20% off. This includes already as-marked discounted items. Museum Members already enjoy a 10% discount everyday, but during this sale, members can combine their discounts for 30% off! This NEVER happens!

We have gifts for Graduates! 🧑‍🎓
We have gifts for Mother's Day! 💐
We have items you have been wanting but are waiting for a sale!

We also have goats! 🐐

The BC goat herd will be back in the woodland area, munching on our young honeysuckle and other invasive overgrowth. Come shop, come visit, come (re)acquaint yourself with Kauffman Museum, and maybe chat with a goat!

Our hours are 9:30-4:30 Tuesday-Friday, Saturday-Sunday 1:30-4:30. See you then!

05/04/2026

Kauffman Museum Pre-Summer Sale! This is BIG!

We invite you to shop at the Kauffman Museum Store, Tuesday-Sunday May 5-10 for our Pre-Summer Sale! Everything in the store will be 20% off. This includes already as-marked discounted items. Museum Members already enjoy a 10% discount everyday, but during this sale, members can combine their discounts for 30% off! This NEVER happens!

We have gifts for Graduates! 🧑‍🎓
We have gifts for Mother's Day! 💐
We have items you have been wanting but are waiting for a sale!

We also have goats! 🐐

The BC goat herd will be back in the woodland area, munching on our young honeysuckle and other invasive overgrowth. Come shop, come visit, come (re)acquaint yourself with Kauffman Museum, and maybe chat with a goat!

Our hours are 9:30-4:30 Tuesday-Friday, Saturday-Sunday 1:30-4:30. See you then!