This gallery was highly recommended by a lady working in the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center, Sadly,…read morewhen we arrived around noon on a Wednesday, the gallery was closed and we did not get to see inside. We'll keep this on "our list" for our next trip through Oakley, Kansas.

If you're into fossils, this is a five star. For everyone else, some cool looks as serious fossils,…read morelocal murals, and friendly folk. I also scored a classic Brownie camera her for 5 bucks! Chuck and Barbra are knowledgeable, and are connected in the fossil world all over. They've lectured across the U.S., and have friends in serious places, like at New York's Museum of Natural History. I mostly enjoyed the conversation, and when Chuck explained some of the fossils and murals, I appreciated them much more than I would have otherwise. If you're a museum type, check this out.

We were in Oakley to see the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center on our way to Monument Rocks and Little…read moreJersuleum State Park - both just about 20 miles south of Oakley. While at the Buffalo Bill Center, we spotted signs for the Fick Fossil and History Museum which is practically across the street from the Buffalo Bill Center. So, we decided to stop for a quick visit. This is a great little museum and was an unexpected find in the middle of Kansas. In my opinion, this was more of a history museum than a fossil museum although they did have several impressive fossil displays. Having recently visited the Sternberg Museum, I was more interested in some of the historical exhibits than I was in seeing more fossil displays. Admission is free; it's convenient to I-70 (Oakley exit). Allow 1-2 hours, longer if you have kids.

This museum was awesome! My sister and I stopped in here on our way to Denver and it was an amazing…read moredecision. It was free to enter and no more than 2 minutes off of highway 70, so no worries if you're on a budget. We planned to get in and out in an hour, which did not happen. We took 2 hours. It was very very fun, but don't come here if you like fossils and have somewhere to be! All of the fossils were found here, and they also have a wide variety of natural, local, and American historical artifacts. They even had some artifacts/pieces of stone from international landmarks (like Vesuvius and Egyptian tombs)! All in all, a very neat little gem off the side of the highway.

It was so complete and well done. The information was amazing. We will venture here again.read more

Can't really say much other than from what you can see from outside of the fence. This is not a pet…read morefriendly place anywhere on the grounds. Really disappointed as we were looking forward to seeing the old town behind the museum. Dont leave your pets in the car, it's not worth it.

This stop was a 10/10 for our family. Four kids, aged 18, 16, 14, 11. The exhibits were very…read moreinteractive and interesting. We found the dolls a little creepy but that's just our preference - the depth of the collection was very impressive! More tools and toys and I particularly loved the barn and sod house you could go inside. Just a great stop on a long drive of I70 across Kansas.

Throughly enjoyed our visit, just wish we had allowed more time. The inside museum was bursting at…read morethe seams with interesting items. Grouped by categories with some general information. Something for everyone: fabulous antique buttons, glassware, vintage toys, military memorabilia, and more. Just seeing the largest barn in Kansas was worth the price of admission. Looks like the upstairs is ready for a wedding venue or unique private parties. Highly recommend to families, lots of hands-on stuff and plenty of running room as well.

We were stranded in Goodland after car trouble so had to stay within biking distance of the KOA…read more Went to the museum our first day there. It is small but has a lot of information packed into it. My kids loved the scavenger hunt. The staff was very friendly and they had free craft bags and mini helicopters that the kids enjoyed.

We really enjoyed our stop at this museum in Kansas. Several agricultural and historical displays…read moreand the volunteers there were so helpful and informative. We were interested in seeing some of the prairie grasslands and the gentleman told us where we could see them and printed us out a map. Nice little stop if you are traveling through Kansas to

Out in the middle of nowhere, about halfway between Kansas City and Denver (10 miles west of Hays)…read moreis this delightful museum of railroad memorabilia. It's a little haphazard, but it's worth a stop to stretch your legs and break up the monotony of the drive across western Kansas.THe Museum has lots of neat photos and artifacts from when Ellis was a major railroad town along the UPRR. There's also a great model train layout in the back room.

Very nice old woman running it- tiny place, but awesome with a lot of photographs, maps, books and…read moreclothes. Very cute! 100 percent would go again!

What a fantastic museum. So many historical artifacts there. Its like stepping back in time. WELL…read moreworth a visit.

We were here today and it's a neat little place to walk around. You can't enter any of the…read morebuildings, but there are markers explaining the area. You will spend about thirty minutes total and I highly recommend it.

Must see for history buffs. You know why, the general population will think you crazy…read more.. The firt itself is gone. I was hoping to see a wooden structure with all its glory and warscars... But no wood was used so the fort was trenches and mudhuts... This town/village houses 160 people and some government military institutions as the name changed to the Kansas Soldierss' Home back in 1890!!! The fort was built in 1865 to protect pioneers traversing the santa fe trail heading to the southwest (new mexico territories). All skirmishes westward would besed in fort dodge since 900 miles north or south would get you close to canada and mejico. Plus this is 1300 miles from disneyland! Basically the "Plain" Indian campaigns were based from here. Needless to say it took five or so years to handle the Comanche and Kiowa tribes (im not trivializing genocide). The fort left all indian skirmishes to small raids rather than battles. General Custer was based here and his home is a museum now. Although the fort had a short life span, this spot was super important with manifest destiny post civil war. And yes, western kansas was confederate but so far out, western kansas had little influence for the civil war. Forts started popping up in surrounding areas, thanks to railroad expansion thus leading to firt dodge's limited lifespan. Fyi. Everything closed on sunday. I missed the museum :/