Special Projects

The Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation has provided fiscal sponsorship for several very unique Flint Hills educational programs. These outstanding programs offered an extraordinary opportunity for the Foundation to support the Flint Hills Discovery Center's regional mission of connecting children, teachers and schools to the rich dimension of the Flint Hills and sharing with a broad audience the special story of the history of the Flint Hills.

The Spark ProgramThe Spark Program

The Spark Program is a new education outreach initiative designed to bring free high-quality hands-on experiences to every student in grades 3 to 5 in the Flint Hills region. By traveling to schools in the region, Discovery Center educators can serve every student regardless of geography or socioeconomic status and inspire them to be the next generation of prairie stewards. Your donation directly funds education opportunities for youth in the Flint Hills at the following levels:

  • $200 for a single classroom
  • $1,000 for a grade-level
  • $3,000 for an entire school
  • $10,000 for an entire district

Make a donation to the Spark Program today!

Outdoor Classroom Enhancement RenderingOutdoor Classroom Renovation Project

The Outdoor Classroom at the Flint Hills Discovery Center is a dynamic learning space that has engaged hundreds of preschool and school-age youth in environmental education programming, but always weather permitting. We are now seeking funding to enhance this space with a permanent shade structure, additional privacy screening, and a boardwalk to make it an all-weather, all-season learning location. With these renovations, the Discovery Center can continue to grow its suite of education programs that will inspire the next generation of prairie stewards.

Bison SculptureVigilance Bison Sculpture

The Flint Hills Discovery Foundation worked closely with the Discovery Center staff and community partners to develop an initial public art proposal for the grounds of the Discovery Center. The Vigilance bison sculpture from artist Alan Tollakson was selected to grace the front entrance of the facility. This life-size work features a bison cow and calf carved from a single piece of Flint Hills limestone. The FHDC Foundation is funding this work in full through generous private donations.

Stepping into the Prairie Exhibit

The Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation pledged to provide a 1:1 match to the Flint Hills Discovery Center's $200,000 exhibit development grant through the Tourism Attraction Sub-Grant for Kansas (TASK) program. This $400,000 project includes a suite of permanent hardware and exhibit design services to create the new Stepping into the Prairie exhibit.

Conceived as an interactive immersive exhibit that teaches guests all about the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie, Stepping into the Prairie represents the latest in state-of-the-art exhibit design. Opening in November 2024, this exhibit and the associated hardware open up a whole new channel to inspire the next generation of prairie stewards.

15 Passenger Van

On July 19, 2022, the Flint Hills Discovery Center Foundation provided funds to the City of Manhattan to purchase a 15-passenger van, equaling $54,249, from Briggs Auto Group. With this purchase, the Flint Hills Discovery Center will be able to enhance the programs that are already offered and provide new opportunities for guests to experience the Flint Hills.

The FHDC Foundation was able to secure funds through the 2020 Friend of the Flint Hills fundraiser and the 2020 year-end appeal. It was the commitment of the Foundation to fund this van purchase at 100%, with no city tax dollars being used. In addition, the Foundation will provide funds for the FHDC to place a graphic wrap on the van.

"The opportunities for the FHDC programs to reach out and go into the Flint Hills are significantly increased with the capacity of the new 15 passenger van," said Bruce Snead, President of the FHDC Foundation.

  1. 1 Ron Fehr, Linda Morse, Russ Briggs, Bruce Snead & Stephen Bridenstine posing with check
  2. 2 Flint Hills Discovery Center Education staff with summer camp children

A map of the Flint Hills with areas of remaining tallgrass prairieFlint Hills Educational Map

Every K-12 school in the Flint Hills was offered a large museum-quality map display free of change in 2016. The map display included a colored map outlining the Flint Hills, showing the remaining intact prairie and a selection of three associated side panels.

Over 180 Flint Hills schools have the map on display in their buildings. The map display is also located at seven colleges and ten public locations in the Flint Hills. The Flint Hills Discovery Center also displays two four panel maps on the second floor. One display is in the classroom and the other is located at the entrance to the Tallgrass Gallery. The regional Educational Map Placement Project was financed by over 60 private and public donors.

This is the first-of-a-kind educational map program offered in the Flint Hills region. A major dimension of the project is the educational component which includes teaching materials available at the Flint Hills Learning Center.

Santa Fe Trail

Dave Kendall produced a film to commemorate the bicentennial of the Santa Fe Trail in 2021. The trail crossed the Flint Hills region as it made its way from Missouri to New Mexico. The film focuses on the historical importance of the trail in helping develop the United States.

Prairie Women: Engaging Women of the Flint Hills

Dave Kendall produced the film, "Prairie Women: Engaging Women of the Flint Hills." Dave and his wife, Laura Mead, filmed some of the notable women actively engaged in the promotion, preservation and protection of the Flint Hills, as well as reflecting upon the pioneering experiences of those who came before them. The production focuses on women engaged in a variety of pursuits, from ranching and agri-tourism to songwriting and landscape painting. The film premiered in the spring of 2018.

The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: A Flint Hills Love Story

Dave's first film was "The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve: A Flint Hills Love Story." This is a documentary about the creation of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County, Kansas, managed by the National Park Service in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy in Kansas.

Be sure and visit Dave's website and the Prairie Hollow Productions Facebook page to learn more about his film work and purchase copies of these films.

Learn more about the programs offered at the FHDC.

The FHDC Foundation functions to advance the mission and work of the Flint Hills Discovery Center through dynamic and vibrant development programs which identify, cultivate, solicit and express appreciation to donors of the Foundation. The Foundation seeks capital and programming, along with deferred and endowed gifts in support of the Flint Hills Discovery Center.

Support Us

From time to time, the Flint Hills Discovery Center staff, in collaboration with the FHDC Foundation, develop programming or identifies projects that depend on outside support for implementation. For more about current opportunities to fund special projects, please contact the FHDC Foundation at 785-748-1275.