The Cosmosphere is proud to announce its participation in the 2024 Kansas Tourism Sunflower Summer program, which offers an enhanced experience for Kansas families this year.

From May 25 to Aug. 11, Kansas families with school-aged children participating in Sunflower Summer will receive free admission to everything the Cosmosphere
has to offer.

This year, the Cosmosphere is excited to provide even more free access for Sunflower Summer participants than ever before. In years past, participants received free admission to the Hall of Space Museum; in 2024, they will receive a free All-Access Mission Pass.

This includes unlimited access on the day of their visit to the Hall of Space Museum and CosmoKids, one Carey Digital Dome Theater documentary, one show in the Justice Planetarium, one show in Dr. Goddard’s Lab, and one ride on the naviGATOR Flight Simulator.

“We are thrilled to once again be a part of the 2024 Kansas Sunflower Summer program,” said Cosmosphere President and CEO Jim Remar. “This fantastic opportunity allows us to welcome Kansas families to the Cosmosphere and provide them with a truly memorable experience .” The Sunflower Summer Program benefits Kansas families with school-aged children, encouraging them to explore and fall in love with Kansas. The program is designed to give affordable access to tourism attractions across the state and support the Kansas tourism economy.

On May 24, the Cosmosphere will open a new exhibit and premiere a new documentary. The exhibit, entitled “United States x Soviet Union: Space Program Compare & Contrast,” will open in the Cosmosphere’s rotunda. It will feature rarely displayed Cosmosphere artifacts to highlight the differences and similarities between U.S. and Soviet space technologies.

Likewise, the new documentary, “Space: The New Frontier,” opens in the Carey Digital Dome Theater on the same day. Narrated by actor Chris Pine, it goes behind the scenes of some of the most promising space technologies and missions of our time, giving audiences a first look into the not-so-distant future.

The Cosmosphere International SciEd Center & Space Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate. Located at 1100 North Plum in Hutchinson, KS, its collection includes U.S. space artifacts second only to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow. This unique collection allows the Cosmosphere to tell the story of the Space Race better than any museum in the world while offering fully immersive education experiences that meet Next Generation Science Standards.

Sunflower Summer is a program operated by Kansas Tourism, a division of the Kansas Department of Commerce. The program aims to help Kansas families affordably explore the Sunflower State. The official Sunflower Summer mobile app is available on Apple and Android. More information can be found at SunflowerSummer.org