For the fifth consecutive year, Exploration Place is partnering with The Kansas African American Museum to commemorate Black History Month with a large-scale outdoor display.
Each night during February, Exploration Place will honor African American scientists and STEM leaders by projecting giant portraits onto the side of its d building. The display will be freely viewable from the path along the Arkansas River. Visitors also may take in the display from inside Exploration Place on Thursday nights, when the museum is open until 8 p.m. Admission is not required to view the display from the Exploration Place promenade.
Changing weekly throughout the month, the display will honor Wichitans’ contributions to Black history:
- Week 1: Harold Miller is a U.S. Navy veteran who in 1970 became the first African American to serve as an air traffic controller in the Wichita tower. Eventually, he was promoted to supervisor in the central region.
- Week 2: Charyl McAfee-Duncan is a licensed architect who is a committed mentor to girls interested in STEAM and an advocate of public art programs.
- Week 3: Dr. Donald Jackson was a World War II Tuskegee airman who later became a veterinarian in Wichita from 1957 until 2001.
- Week 4: Col George Boyd served for nearly three decades in the U.S. Air Force, including serving as an all-weather jet fighter radar intercept officer and as the commander of the Kansas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
Make it an evening and stay to watch the nightly 7 pm Ring of Fire lighting at the Keeper of the Plains from the new Wichita Foundation Amphitheater.