Cosmosphere — Attraction in Hutchinson

This place is AWESOME!!!!! It contains a plethora of information, it is so interesting, and truly is engaging for all ages!

Update April 2024:

As we were traveling for our 2-week Eclipse camping trip- I was like "Oh My Gosh we will be going right through Hutchinson, we must stop at Cosmosphere again!"

Love this place!

We went 4 days after the Eclipse, and I would be lying if I said I didn't expect any sort of exhibit about it. I was a bit disappointed there was really nothing about the Eclipse. I was hoping there would be something, even just the prevalence of totality eclipses with years, pictures etc. The museum was under a lot of construction so not a lot of exhibits were open. We were not able to experience the planetarium because of the school field trips. However, this did not diminish the 5-star review because what we did see and just the exhibits itself are A-MAZING! Love love love how clean and organized this place is! I love that they give Senior Discounts over the age of 60, veteran and miliary discounts, and that even with having 3 busfuls of school children present when we were there- we did not feel cramped or overwhelmed. Everything is so great at this museum! Lots of parking, VERY Reasonable prices, and love the shows! We saw the Blue Whales which was so heartfelt!

Can't wait to come back when everything is updated, and we can just take our time visiting all the new exhibits! Hopefully there will be an...

An absolute must see when visiting the Wichita area! It’s a bit of a drive, but worth it with all of the cool space, aeronautic, and historical displays. There Digital Dome Theatre is awesome, too! It’s great that they sell tickets to the theatre and museum separately, so you can easily tailor your day around what interests you the most. There’s a snack bar with lots of choices ranging from soda and popcorn to ice cream and energy drinks. The showtimes are listed online, so it makes planning pretty easy. The museum is awesome! It does a good job of covering not only the US space program, but the historical events leading up to it. There is a piece of the Berlin Wall on display, WWII is explained and the recruitment of Axis scientists is included, the space race, and tons of great relics from our space program. It’s something that appeals to all ages (my kids are 3 and 6), and there are even two rockets on display. One of them had an outdoor area that’s designed like a launchpad and where the kids can get up close to the rocket base. Mine loved it! There is a Future Astronaut Program here, and I can’t recommend it highly enough! I went to all of the levels, and it was an invaluable experience! They bring in special speakers throughout the year, and they are constantly adding to the display collection because they closely partner with NASA. It definitely inspires a...

This was an incredible museum. We were two adults, a high school senior who wants to be an astronaught and my 12 year old son. We were there for at least 6 hours. We bought full day passes, which included the fliqht simulator, the museum, the planetarium, and the Dome Theatre. The dome theater was good for a rest break, but I wish the movies would have been aviation or space themed. The rest of the museum was outstanding. It focused on the progression from suprasonic flight to rocket engines. It exptensively covers the Cold War space race. There was the Liberty Bell capsule, Vostak capsule, Mercury Gemini missions, a huge Apollo exhibit including an Apollo 11 lunar lander replica and the actual refurbished Apollo 13 module. It continues to the Shuttle program and international space station. There were a ton of cool artifacts and photos, but it was very reading intensive. My 12 year old was entertained for about an hour or so. I found it fascinating when they presented the Russian /US political atmosphere as the drivers for space exploration. The planetarium show was a "here is Andromeda and her mother Casiopia and the sea serpent." They had an 80-minute documentary on the Apollo missions that we found just tucked in a corner that I thought was a highlight. I would HIGHLY recommend budgeting a full day if you are hoping...