Our little Dorothy & Glinda with our much beloved Tin Man at the OZ Museum in Kansas. His collar is signed by children’s author Roger Baum. Roger is great grandson of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’s original author, L. Frank Baum. Roger continues to contribute to the Oz series.
“A baby has brains, but it doesn’t know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on Earth the more experience you are sure to get.“
– The Wizard to the Scarecrow in L. Frank Baum’s Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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Our top must-do when traveling to Dorothy’s home state, for the 1st time, was to find a Wizard of Oz museum in Kansas. Stat! Not an easy feat over a century after the book was published and over 80 years after the popular movie debuted. But, we found the perfectly, lovely OZ Museum in Wamego, Kansas which delighted our whole family, teen boys, mom & dad, too! We’re big fans and we’re not alone. Fans around the world still celebrate the adored movie and book with festivals, exhibits, theatre & events. Many collect the sometimes hard to find memorabilia of a story we love that takes us back to the wonder of being a kid. The museum has exhibits surrounding not only the legendary film starring Judy Garland (Dorothy), Jack Haley (Tin Man), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (Lion) & more, but they cover everything OZ related! I don’t know anyone who doesn’t love the Wizard of Oz, what’s not to love?! Characters have never been more perfectly portrayed than by the one’s in this film. They captured our imagination and won our hearts. But, I don’t have to convince you that it’s awesome! Wamego is 40 minutes West of Topeka, 17 miles off the Interstate and totally worth the drive.
On the yellow brick road with Dorothy in Munchkinland. (not visible in pic) The Wicked Witch of the West’s legs with the ruby red slippers are protruding from under Dorothy’s house.
You enter into a gift shop with the biggest collection of Wizard of OZ memorabilia I’ve ever seen. A wide variety of unique items for your home & garden, clothing items, toys, bags, jewelry, seasonal items and more. It also has a wind simulator if you want a tiny taste of a tornado! The gift shop also has a giant tin man (Love!!!) and the exterior of Dorothy’s barn and house. Mrs Gulch’s bike is perched on top of the roof. You enter the museum through the door to Dorothy’s little house and just follow the yellow brick road from there! The museum, itself, is smaller than many museums, today, but a really good size with much to see, especially considering how old the movie & book. It’s fully packed with exhibits and over a century of original artifacts and history from the many books, tv shows, spin-offs, Wicked the Broadway musical, OZ, The Wiz, the silent films, Laurel & Hardy version, and vintage Wizard of Oz and character collectibles and movie memorabilia. They have over 2,000 pieces in their collection. An impressive number of them are rare, one of a kind pieces. The exhibits include many interesting facts and trivia from the movie, books, & tv shows regarding the characters, actors, authors & filming that are little known. A mini theater plays the beloved 1939 Wizard of Oz movie. ♥
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The scenes have all 4 of the main characters, but also the Haunted Forest, Witch’s castle, Glinda, and the Emerald City. Plenty of great photo ops for fans, big and little!
If you are a fan of the movie and/ or book (and really, who isn’t?), you will adore this gem! From a movie that is over 80 years old, they have more original artifacts than I would have ever expected. It’s not just games, toys & memorabilia that a collector has shared from a private collection. The OZ Museum is curated for museum quality. They still continue to add to their impressive collection. Keep in mind, the infrequent times that the few, remaining pieces go up for auction, they usually sell for millions of dollars. The National Museum of American History has a few pieces and many others have been hoarded by private collectors. Also, they scrapped and re-purposed a lot of the movie sets and pieces. People didn’t value, save, and collect things for future generations like we do now. This little museum in Kansas is impressive and an absolute unique delight to walk through. This business isn’t a huge money maker. It’s obvious they do it because they love OZ just as much as we do. The care and love they put into the museum and exhibits is obvious. And I can’t thank them enough for plugging through and keeping this open to the public for all of us to enjoy and reminisce. It is an American treasure for the whole world to enjoy. The OZ museum in Wamego is worth your time and support if you’re ever in Kansas. You can still donate online, if you’re not! There are 2 other Wizard of OZ dedicated museums in the US. But, this is the only one in Dorothy & Toto’s home state of Kansas. Interestingly, we saw a farm-house and old metal windmill that looked so much like Dorothy’s farm, not far down the road!
The All Things Oz Museum is in Chittenango, NY, the birthplace of OZ author L. Frank Baum. A collector in Wausaukee, Wisconsin has created the Land of Oz museum. We have not been to these, yet, but plan to, for sure! There are also a few small, Wizard of OZ themed attractions or park areas in various states, too. I’ll post more of those, in the future!
Our little Dorothy and Glinda in the Haunted Forest on the way to the Witch’s castle and on to the Emerald City!
Good to Know:
511 Lincoln Ave
Wamego, Kansas
OZsome OZ:
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6 Comments
Oh I love this! I’ve read the original book with my girls and we love it. I also worked in a nursery school called Yellow Brick Road! It sounds like a great place to visit
Sharon! I’m sorry, this comment got buried and I just saw it. Yes, it is an awesome place for OZ lovers. One of the very few physical places you can go to experience your love for the movie & book. You’ll have to go! We’ll definitely go back! 🙂
Terri, if you ever will be in the Orlando, area, as an owner I will invite your whole family to experience the museum at Cape Canaveral.
Thank you, Fred, we would love that! I’ll let you know when we’re back your way. Thanks! 🙂