After being closed for a year-long renovation, the Eisenhower Presidential Museum in Ike’s hometown of Abilene will be rededicated on Oct. 12. The unveiling of the 25,000-square-foot museum was slated to coincide with the 75th anniversary year of D-Day, in which Eisenhower played a pivotal role. 

In addition to seven new films, the completely redone museum devotes more space to Mamie Eisenhower. Set on a 22-acre campus, the museum houses 70,000 artifacts pertaining to Eisenhower’s military and presidential career. 

The museum first opened not as a presidential museum but as a way to honor Abilene’s most famous son and the nation’s first five-star general, Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was supreme allied commander during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.  

Eisenhower was elected president in 1953, and the museum dedication took place on Nov. 11, 1954. Check dwightdeisenhower.com/or Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum on Facebook for more information. 

The Sedgwick County Zoo’s Reed Family Elephants of the Zambezi River Valley habitat was the second-place winner in the 2019 USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice travel award contest for Best Zoo Exhibit.

The zoo’s elephant habitat – the country’s third largest – encompasses five acres and a 550,000-gallon pool.  For more info, visit scz.org.