By David Markham

The Johnson County Museum’s newest special exhibit stems from the idea of exploring a topic almost everyone takes for granted.

“Ripples: Water, Community and You,” will run through Jan. 11, 2026. This exhibit takes visitors on a journey through the history of water in Johnson County, revealing how this essential resource has continuously influenced our environment and community development.

“The history of humans’ interaction with water in the region is truly a hidden history,” said Curator of Interpretation Andrew R. Gustafson.

“We use the special exhibit gallery to take deep dives into topics from our signature exhibit, ‘Becoming Johnson County.’ Talking about the ancient water history, more recent natural history, changes to our regional waterways and rivers, construction of water and sewage infrastructure, the history of irrigation and contemporary water concerns really covers a diverse amount of history and issues that are extremely relevant to the present and future of Kansans, Kansas Citians, and Johnson Countians.”

He noted this exhibit is meant to be engaging for all ages and includes a number of exciting objects on display, more interactive elements than have been included in the museum’s past special exhibits, as well as engaging visuals, audio elements, and high overall production values.

An interest in increasing public awareness is one of the reasons the museum wanted to explore the topic of water.

“We wanted visitors to think about the infrastructure, processes, and history behind the water that comes to our faucets and that goes down our drains; the water that runs into the gutters and that flows in local streams,” Gustafson said.

“Awareness also means understanding the decisions – good and bad, small and large – that humans have made that impact water and water systems. We talk about all of this as ripples – any decision made concerning water makes a ripple. That ripple reverberates into the future, for better or worse. Some decisions in the past were made thinking the outcomes would be beneficial but have actually been detrimental. Knowing this history, seeing how these ripples continue to affect us today, will help visitors think about making positive ripples for the future of water in their daily, private, and public water decisions.”

The idea and early research for “Ripples” began in 2022, and museum staff worked on completing more intensive research, script writing, graphic design, file approvals and fabrication over the past year. Staff also hosted virtual conversations with three different groups of water experts and practitioners; went on three site visits (WaterOne and Johnson County Wastewater’s Tomahawk Facility and wastewater pump houses); did about six months of research including visiting archives; and reading dozens of books and articles on a wide array of water-related topics.

“This is the first special exhibit that the museum has created that covers something like 180 million years,” Gustafson said. “In fact, we have a cast of an ancient marine reptile skull fossil on loan for the exhibit – an aquatic creature called a mosasaur, which used to swim over what is now Kansas when it was the Western Interior Seaway millions of years ago.”

Entry to the special exhibit is included with museum admission: $6 for adults, $5 for seniors and $4 for children. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The museum’s next quarterly free day is scheduled for March 20.

Johnson County Museum is located inside the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park. For more information, call 913-826-2787.

David Markham is communications specialist at the Johnson County Park and Recreation District.