Together with the City of Wichita

Did you know the City of Wichita has an App on the website where you can report issues? (You can also just report issues online if you don’t need another app on your home screen).

Here are some of the top requests in the last week or so:

• Report a Pothole - 36

• Report a Dead or Dying Tree, Limb or Tree Down & Request Stump Removal - 22

• Other - 21

• Report an Issue With a Traffic Sign/Signal - 11

Your turn! Report that pothole on your street today!

The Kansas Aviation Museum is about more than Old Airplanes

Fora long time, Wichita has been known as the Air Capital of the World.

Despite this fun fact and identity for our city, it’s surprisingly common to meet lifelong Wichitans who have never stepped foot inside the Kansas Aviation Museum.

Maybe that’s because the museum quietly sits south of Kellogg tucked away near McConnell Air Force Base inside Wichita’s original airport terminal.

Maybe it’s because aviation has become so woven into Wichita’s identity that people almost stop noticing it. Everyone knows someone (and likely multiple someones) who work in aviation in some form or another and airplanes are just kinda there.

But spend even a little time talking with Ben Sauceda (President & CEO of the Kansas Aviation Museum) and you quickly realize the museum is about much more than preserving old aircraft.

It’s about preserving Wichita’s story and helping shape what comes next.

As Ben put it during our recent podcast conversation:

When you think about it, the man ain’t wrong.

Wichita’s Aviation Story Lives Here

Before you even take a step into the building, you’re already looking at history (and part of the story of KAM).

The Art Deco (style of architecture) building originally opened in the 1930s as Wichita’s first municipal airport terminal and operated between 1935 to 1954 before commercial air travel eventually moved to what is now Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport.

The US Army Air Corps added an upper control tower in 1941 and began operating in 1942 and was running flights every 90 seconds by 1944. After WWII, civilian use picked back up.

Another fun fact:

Fast forward to 1954, the based was renamed from Wichita Air Force Base to McConnell after 3 years of US Air Force using the airport for B-47 + civilian use. This was the same year the Wichita Mid-Continent Airport opened.

The Kansas Aviation Museum

Today, the old terminal has been transformed into a museum dedicated to preserving Kansas aviation history and the people who helped shape it.

Inside, you’ll find roughly 25 aircraft on display ranging from early wood-and-fabric planes to military aircraft and passenger jets.

There are exhibits highlighting military aviation, women in aviation, Black aviators, and the Wichita companies that helped turn the city into a global aviation powerhouse.

Be honest, do you still refer to Wichita as the “Air Capital of the World” or do you think that still applies to Wichita? Because even though it feels like a slogan from an older era of Wichita, the aviation footprint here is still undeniable.

That’s part of what makes the museum interesting even for people who aren’t “airplane people.” Aviation in Wichita isn’t just history. It’s still one of the biggest economic and cultural forces in the city today.

The museum also helps keep alive some of the lesser-known stories tied to Wichita aviation.

One of Ben’s favorites is Clay Lacy, a legendary pilot who learned to fly in Wichita as a teenager on what eventually became Rolling Hills Country Club. Lacy later became one of the most influential names in aviation photography and aerial cinematography, helping pioneer camera systems used in films like Top Gun and Armageddon.

Connecting people to the stories behind the industry is a huge role for the museum.

Not just the airplanes, but the innovators, risk-takers, designers, engineers, and creators who helped build Wichita into what it is.

The Museum’s Real Mission Is the Future

What surprised me most during our conversation was how much of the museum’s focus is actually about the future rather than the past.

Yes, preserving history matters, obviously.

But Ben repeatedly came back to one core idea:

Exposing kids to aviation, engineering, creativity, and problem-solving early enough that they can imagine themselves being part of it someday.

That’s where the museum’s education programs and STEAM camps come in.

The museum hosts field trips, summer camps, drone programs, hands-on engineering activities, and creative building exercises designed primarily for elementary and middle school students.

To get an idea, here are a few things they offer:

• Summer Camps - There are a few different summer camps available including Build it Better for ages 6-8 and 9 - 12, Design & Build Discovery for ages 11- 14, Flight Forces Adventure for ages 6-8 and 9 - 12 and more!

• Field Trips - Typically last 2 - 2.5 hours with add on experiences adding 30 min each. Museum tours, Ramp Tours, Science of Flight Lessons, even Stuffed Animal Scavenger Hunts for the kids

• Little Aviators - for agues 12 and under, with varying themes each Friday

Something you may notice is that STEAM has evolved from STEM.

STEM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Math

STEAM adds in the A for Art because creativity does matter in these fields.

As Ben joked during the interview, “Engineering is just art with lines.”

That philosophy shows up throughout the museum’s programs. Kids might spend time learning about flight and drones, but they’re also designing projects, building models, solving problems collaboratively, and developing communication skills.

One activity involves students designing and building creations out of cardboard using kid-safe miniature saws. Another focuses on teamwork and public speaking. Others introduce weather science, creative engineering, and aviation career exploration.

The goal isn’t necessarily to turn every kid into a pilot or aerospace engineer. It is about exposure and planting seeds that might grow into something down the road, even if that is just interest and curiosity.

It is helping kids see that aviation includes artists, marketers, designers, mechanics, coders, engineers, interior designers, and creators of all kinds.

Ben believes there’s still a major gap in elementary-age aviation and engineering exposure, even as high schools and colleges become more intentional about career pathways. And if Wichita wants to keep the Air Capital title for another hundred years, that pipeline matters.

They’re also working on a new education wing that will take it to new heights.

KAM is an Event Venue?

The museum has also quietly become one of Wichita’s more unique event spaces.

Over the last few years, it’s hosted everything from candlelight concerts and murder mystery dinners to paranormal investigations, galas, block parties, and air show watch events.

If you’ve seen photos of the candlelight concerts floating around social media, yes, those are real. Some of the ads are a little ‘sus’ as the kids say, but we went to a Coldplay one and it was amazing.

The Kansas Aviation Hall of Fame also calls the museum home, honoring major figures who shaped aviation in Kansas and beyond.

In a way, that mix of history, education, and community events feels very Wichita.

A couple coming events to keep track of:

• Block Party - 6/28

• Flight Club - Exploring Global Cuisine on 8/22

• Paranormal Investigation - Date TBD - think it’s haunted?

• Broomsticks and Biplanes - 10/18

Takeaways

If you take nothing else away from this deep dive, take away this:

The museum isn’t trying to be some untouchable historical archive. It’s trying to be an active part of the community while preserving one of the industries that helped define the city in the first place.

The Kansas Aviation Museum isn’t just about looking backward at Wichita’s aviation legacy. It’s about making sure the next generation still feels connected to it.

If you want to learn more, check out my podcast with Ben on Spotify, Apple, and Youtube:

What do you want to see us go deep on in a future deep dive?

Let us know!