The final frontier on the Kansas frontier
Exhibit at little museum takes visitors into space
LOGAN, Kansas — Six decades after his death, Dane Gray Hansen continues to give back to his hometown.
Here in this map dot of fewer than 500 people — six hours from Des Moines, four hours from Topeka, and one hour from the nearest Walmart — the Hansen Museum is a diamond on the prairie. (It’s also literally diamond-shaped.) The museum, which receives money from a foundation established after Hansen’s death, brings in traveling exhibits that also go to cities hundreds of times Logan’s size.
This summer, from June 30 to Sept. 28, the traveling exhibit is “Astronaut.” From the museum’s website:
Astronauts explore the physical and mental challenges involved in space travel, offering a behind-the-scenes look at life beyond our atmosphere. Visitors can experience g-force, attempt space station maintenance, grow “space food,” and learn the ins and outs of everyday tasks like sleeping, showering, and even using the bathroom in microgravity. Through a series of interactive exhibits, guests step into the role of a space explorer—from astronaut training all the way to orbit.
The exhibit’s presence here is part of a five-year deal with Imagine Exhibitions of Atlanta. It’s built by Scitech of Perth, Australia. Six local residents and two people from Imagine set up the modules.
(The author, a certified nerd, got an inadvertent sneak peek the day before the official opening and was quite satisfied with the experience.)
The modules are in two supersets: Training on Earth and living in the International Space Station. There are videos to watch, quizzes to take, and a few activities to perform. The G-force experience is essentially a spinning teacup on a fixed base. Four people at a time can sit in inclined seats to experience the rumble of “liftoff.”
Museum director Shari Buss looks for traveling exhibits that would be a good fit. A couple of years ago, she came across “Animal Super Powers,” a collection of giant Lego sculptures by artist Sean Kenney. The cost to bring it in was above their normal budget, but the board was willing to take a chance on it. The “Animal Super Powers” website lists the summer 2023 “Central Kansas” stop among others such as St. Louis and Montreal.
It was a smashing success. “We had such a tremendous turnout with that exhibit that they then allowed us to then procure at least five more exhibits with Imagine, expanding our operating funds annually for the next five years so that we could host one of their exhibits every year,” Buss said. Last year’s summer/fall exhibit from Imagine was about all the work of Leonardo da Vinci, and Astronaut is the third.
A good return on Astronaut would be 2,500 visitors over the three-month period, Buss said, but she was confident that that target could be surpassed. Families come in summer, then later on, schools will bring students on field trips.
The museum, which opened in 1972 and was then given to the town of Logan, had a complete overhaul four years ago. The fixed exhibit area, which is all about the Hansen family, has touchscreens that guide visitors through the items on display.
Dane Hansen is “the reason everything’s here,” said office assistant April Teves. He was one of six children of Peter and Alpha Hansen — Peter came from Denmark — and two of the children died young. Dane Hansen took over Peter’s general store and also got involved in road/bridge construction. He was one of the first in the area to buy land solely for leasing to farmers, and oil was discovered on the land, Teves said.
Hansen was very frugal. “We always say there’s three things he was willing to spend money on: cigars, cars, and long-distance phone calls,” Teves said. But Hansen was also “quite advanced in his technology for the day.” The re-creation of his office has a Dictaphone for recording messages. Hansen often operated on a noon-to-midnight (or so) schedule, Teves said, and left messages for his secretary to type up the next morning.
Kate Hansen, a sister of Dane’s who also never married, has a section dedicated to her as well. “She was quite an amazing young woman,” Teves said. While at the University of Kansas, she decided to become a missionary to Japan … and then told her parents about her plans. “I can’t imagine what that conversation went like.”
Kate Hansen was a strong advocate for women’s rights and believer in women’s education, Teves said, and she spent many years in Japan both before and after World War II teaching English and music at an all-girls’ school. Some of her collection of items she accumulated overseas is on display.
The last descendant of the Hansen family still living in the area, Carol Bales, is president of the museum board and sits on the foundation trustees board. The foundation also distributes scholarships and grants across northwest Kansas.
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Great find!
Nice to know that there are such jewels in lots of places that many of us have never heard of, Jeff, the gifts of philanthropists with pride in their roots.