Kansas Learning Center of Health

The Kansas Learning Center of Health is located in Halstead, Kansas which is about 30 minutes from Wichita, Goddard, and Hutchinson. This museum is located in a smaller town but is mighty. We are so glad we took the little trip north.

Valeda

When we went, they told us about the museum and Valeda and asked what we wanted to do first. We went with Valeda. Valeda is from Germany, she has clear skin to show your nerves and veins along with your organs. She is on a platform and you sit in theater-like seating with a TV that does all the talking for her. Since we had a wide range of kids from five to 17, she asked which version we wanted and went with the older version that talked about a uterus and breast.

The TV and Valeda starts with the brain and moves down the body. It talks about the organs and how they each work with brain. This is how we are different than other living creatures. It goes onto the pituitary gland, how it’s so small and yet the most powerful. Want to learn how we talk? Check out the larynx voice box. Even the adults and kids were learning little facts about the body.

As we go to the throat area, it started talking about the thyroid butterfly gland. This made our whole group laugh since I have a ton of thyroid issues. They all got to learn about the organ I no longer have and how it affects me. It also had them open up questions after the presentation which was neat too.

Along the body we went to the lung, heart, and the powerhouse of the liver and how it’s the largest glad in your body. Did you know that?!? I didn’t. It also talked about how the liver and gall bladder worked together and went to the spleen, pancreas, stomach, and both intestines to the rectum, and kidneys.

All in all we just love looking and seeing all the veins and nerves and how the organs all sit within a body.

Museum of Health

The museum area is set up with a farm to table area, with quizzing about farms, a small train and farm area to show how it goes from the farm to the grocery store.

The rest of the museum is set up in different scenes and the brain. Along with an area for under five with kitchen, babies, and a vet area that was lots of fun. The five year old had tons of fun serving us food and taking care of her babies.

While the rest of us were building a skeleton bones, seeing how your intestines work with a bandana blowing through. Check out the brain and see what area of our sense use to our brains it lights up in front of you and on the ceiling.

See how the inside of the heart looks, see the inside of your mouth, and visit each display for your senses.

Medical History

In the lobby area they have an Iron Lung, which did you know the longest living guy still living one just recently died in the last year. They have a short 4-5 minute movie about the iron lung, how it works and operators which was really interesting and fun to see.

They show off a medical horse and buggy wagon that use to be used to see patients. There is also a set up of a doctors office with table, cabinet with instruments and more. ‘They show off a medical horse and buggy wagon that use to be used to see patients. There is also a set up of a doctor’s office with a table, cabinet, instruments and more.

Outdoors Learning Center

Outside they have a little green area that has some picnic tables, a swing, and garden area. Also out there are painted games on the ground and outside fitness equipment out front. We didn’t try it as it was near 100 degrees the day we went. It looked like ‘a lot of fun though.

Check out this amazing learning museum and other fun things near Wichita.