Derrick Doty is an author, composer, and historian who enjoys preserving and sharing traditional music of the Flint Hills and Kansas. Derrick plays the fiddle in Tallgrass Express String Band, which showcases Annie Wilson’s songs about the flora, fauna, and culture of the Flint Hills. He also plays with Fiddler’s Dream, an old-time dance band arrangement featuring Bob and Melissa Atchison, Robert Rosenberg, Alice Boyle, and Carl Reed.

Mr. Doty's presentation, The Magic Lantern, includes a slideshow of Kansas-related images from early 20th-century. Mr. Doty tells the stories of the slides as sharing them and the slides contain some images that have not been seen anywhere else. Following the historic images, Mr. Doty will play a variety of instruments while sharing about Kansas’ rich musical history.

SAVE THE DATE to celebrate the Christmas holiday at the Kansas Oil Museum! Join us for an Old Fashioned Christmas on Saturday, December 3.

Visit Santa in Boom Town from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm with your Christmas wish list.

Compete in the Santa Bowl Chili & Soup Cook-Off Competition with your favorite recipes. Competitors will set up between 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm, with chili ready to serve by 6:00 pm. The chili (not meat) must be cooked on location.

Samples of the chili & soup will be shared during the Community Chili Feed from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm in the NEW Energy Education Center! Winners of the Santa Bowl Cook-Off will be announced at 7:00 pm.

Entries for the Santa Bowl Chili & Soup Cook-Off close November 26th at 4:00 PM. Register at https://www.kansasoilmuseum.org/shop/p/santa-bowl-cook-off-registration

Ken Spurgeon is our November Speaker for our Speaker Series. His presentation is titled "Divided Loyalties: The Civil War for Indian Territory". It explores the story of Native Americans living in Kansas and Indian Territory caught between the North and the South in the Civil War.

This presentation will be indoors at the Kansas Oil Museum and is free & open to the public.

Bring the family to El Dorado Main Street for a fun and safe evening of trick or treating with El Dorado businesses! Come find the Kansas Oil Museum booth for special treats and special coupons.

The Trick or Treat booths/vehicles will span the area from the intersection of Main and Third (YMCA) to the intersection of Main and Ash Street as well as West Central from Main to Gordy.

Our famous Cemetery Tours are back again on Saturday, October 15th and Saturday, October 29th. Both days will have tours at 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM. Tours are one hour each and will be at the Belle Vista Cemetery at 720 E. 6th Ave., El Dorado, KS 67042. Tickets are $12 each and include a complete guided walking tour with reenactors! Tickets may be purchased on our website, by calling (316)-321-9333, or by stopping in to visit us at the Museum.

Tours will be led by Ken Spurgeon and Suzanne Walenta of the Kansas Oil Museum & directors of the Kansas Crossroads television series. Attendees may park at the Belle Vista Cemetery during the tour and are encouraged to wear appropriate walking shoes for the tour.

Returning to the Kansas Oil Museum on Tuesday night, October 18, former director Bill Galvani will present the results of his research into two of Butler County’s prominent historic citizens. While directing the museum from 1981 to 1990, Bill became intrigued by the many accomplishments of Robert H. and Isabella Bradford Hazlett, who lived in El Dorado from 1885 to 1936. Now that he is retired from his career as a museum professional, he has found time to do the in-depth research that he feels these two deserve. He is pleased to have this opportunity to talk about their lives and contributions to the community.

In the 1920s and 1930s Robert Hazlett was recognized as the premier cattle breeder of pure-bred Herefords in the United States. His Hazford Place ranch was located near the intersection of today’s McCollum Road and Highway 77, north of El Dorado High School. The Hazlett home was at 115 South Washington, not far from Bradford Memorial Library, which bears the family name of Mrs. Hazlett and her nephew Robert Hazlett Bradford.

Our famous Cemetery Tours are back again on Saturday, October 15th and Saturday, October 29th. Both days will have tours at 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM. Tours are one hour each and will be at the Belle Vista Cemetery at 720 E. 6th Ave., El Dorado, KS 67042. Tickets are $12 each and include a complete guided walking tour with reenactors! Tickets may be purchased on our website, by calling (316)-321-9333, or by stopping in to visit us at the Museum.

Tours will be led by Ken Spurgeon and Suzanne Walenta of the Kansas Oil Museum & directors of the Kansas Crossroads television series. Attendees may park at the Belle Vista Cemetery during the tour and are encouraged to wear appropriate walking shoes for the tour.

Grab your friends and history enthusiasts!

Due to popular demand, the Kansas Oil Museum will have two Ghost Town Tours across Butler County on Saturday, September 24th. Each Ghost Town Tour includes transportation on a luxury bus, a light lunch, and engaging commentary by Ken Spurgeon and Suzanne Walenta.

These tours are of towns that were once thriving communities but today aren't on the map. What happened to them? What was the town story and impact on the county? What's left of the town? What structures remain?

Ken is our History Consultant and is an educator, author, and award-winning filmmaker. Suzanne is our Curator and oversees our exhibits and does genealogy research in our Rolla A. Clymer Research Facility. Ken and Suzanne are also the directors of our historic television series, Kansas Crossroads.

Two tour times are available, with limited seats for each!

Morning Tour from 9 AM to 1 PM

Afternoon Tour from 2 PM to 6 PM

Tickets are on sale for $45 each until September 10th, then will be $50 per person.

Tickets available for purchase here: https://www.kansasoilmuseum.org/shop/

Tours will start and finish at the Kansas Oil Museum in El Dorado.

Enjoy a free concert on the Museum Green with your City of Gold Festival Buttons!

Bring your lawn chair, friends, and cooler & come join the fun! Please leave pets and adult beverages at home.

Vegan Shark is a local band that performs Classic Rock and Progressive Pop music. https://www.facebook.com/tofueatingshark

Enjoy free admission to the Kansas Oil Museum with your City of Gold Festival Buttons!

Attendees will be able to tour the indoor and outdoor exhibits of the Museum and learn about the history of Butler County and the Kansas Oil Industry.

*Construction for the Energy Education Center is taking place on the museum grounds. Construction may affect outdoor exhibit experience.

Tori Campbell is a Wichita native and has been singing and playing acoustic guitar for over 15 years. She taught herself guitar by watching YouTube for hours and hours. After 5 years of leading worship, she added the secular genres of pop, country, and folk music to her list of music. You can catch her playing across Wichita 4 to 5 times a week at bars, restaurants, and private events.

Thank you to Butler Community College for sponsoring this event!

Enjoy a free Concert on the Museum Green with regional band, Tallgrass Express with Annie Wilson, Carl Reed, and Derrick Doty.

Tallgrass Express is a truly regional band: providing local entertainment and recordings to share with others their celebration of the Kansas Flint Hills landscape and ranching culture.

Tallgrass Express programs include brief stories on the background of songs, humorous observations on rural life today, and frequent references to the heritage, land, and culture of their home, the tallgrass prairie of the Kansas Flint Hills.

It's all delivered with a sparkle they hope shows how much they enjoy making and sharing their music with others.

Join us for this FREE Speaker Series Event with Jim Gray, The Cowboy.

Pushin' Horns is a snapshot of the everyday life of 19th-century cowboys (drovers), from gathering wild cattle to the delivery of the cattle at the Kansas railheads. Developing "cow sense", understanding cattle behavior, and skill in the saddle were paramount.

Throughout his life, Gray has collected the stories and lived the life, gaining intimate knowledge of cowboy life on the cattle trails to Kansas and beyond. The Cowboy's presentation is sure to put flesh and blood onto the bones of old trail stories; buried but not forgotten.

Candice and the Business Casual are a dynamic acoustic cover duo who love making and performing music.

Enjoy a free Concert on the Museum Green with this Wichita-based local duo! Thank you to Becky Shum Agency, American Family Insurance for sponsoring this event.

Bring your lawn chair, friends, family, and cooler & come join the fun! Please leave pets and adult beverages at home. Misfit Kitchen Food Truck will be available. The Misfit Kitchen is home of the MacStack, Boss Hawg, Loaded Misfit Fries, BBQ Nachos and other tasty creations!

HF Sinclair is hosting a free day of activities and admissions at the Kansas Oil Museum on Thursday, July 21st. Attendees will be able to tour the indoor and outdoor exhibits of the Museum and learn about the history of Butler County and the Kansas Oil Industry. Employees of HF Sinclair will have and interactive STEM activities available to share about energy resources.

Enjoy a free concert on the Museum Green with up and coming Reno County band, Hyway 14 with Asher Fall, Asa Fall, Paul Hawkinson, and Tayt Staedtler.

They love playing red-dirt country, 90s rock, and most of all our own original music. The music quickly drew them into writing their own songs. They combine their wide variety of favorite genres together to create a one-of-a-kind sound in their original music.

Bring your lawn chair, friends, family, and cooler & come join the fun! Please leave pets and adult beverages at home.