Join us every first Wednesday of every month at 1:30 PM for Senior Wednesday at the Museum of World Treasures!

Event Details

• Date: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
• Time: 1:30 PM
• Location: Museum of World Treasures [Get Directions]

Program Fee

• Museum Members: Free
• Non-Members: FREE and open to the public, thanks to Humanities Kansas

Become a Museum Member

Attending Information

• Open to all ages
• No need to register; simply walk in!
• Light refreshments provided.

Talk Title: The Perfect Storm

Remembering the Dust Bowl in Kansas and Why It Matters

From the parched fields of 1930s Kansas emerged stories that continue to shape our state’s identity. Through the voices of survivors, policy-makers, and historians, this presentation explores how Dust Bowl narratives have evolved and why they remain relevant today. This presentation will examine how this pivotal moment is remembered and highlight how those memories continue to shape the future of the Plains.

SPEAKER BIO - dR. jAY aNTLE

Dr. Jay Antle was born in Texas where he lived for the first 21 years of his life.  While at Lee College, he took a field course in Yellowstone National Park that led him to become deeply interested in environmental issues.  He completed his undergraduate education in history and then moved on to Arizona State University for his master’s degree and then to the University of Kansas in 1992 for his Ph.D. in American Environmental History.  While in graduate school, he participated in an exchange program with Johnson County Community College that ultimately led him to secure a professorship there in 2000 that he still holds.  His responsibilities at JCCC have grown to include heading up the college’s Sustainability program as the Executive Director of the college’s Sustainability Center.  He is a five-time winner of the JCCC Distinguished Service Award.  He has worked with Humanities Kansas for years including serving as a consulting historian for a Smithsonian traveling exhibit on wartime propaganda posters.  He currently lives in Lawrence, Kansas and is an avid hiker and storm chaser.  He is also a distance runner with over 180 half-marathons and ten marathons to his credit.