Did you know the best space museum in the world is right in your Kansas backyard?

The Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, Kansas, is far more than a place to see old rockets. It holds the most U.S. space artifacts outside the Smithsonian and the most Soviet artifacts outside of Moscow — and right now, with humanity heading back to the moon, there's never been a more exciting time to pay attention. Claire Ludes, Senior VP and Chief Development Officer, pulls back the curtain on the institution's remarkable history, its world-class restoration shop, its summer camps that build the next generation of aerospace workers, and what's coming next as private spaceflight rewrites the rules.

Highlights

Tanner got exclusive footage of baby rhino Creed (named after Chiefs center Creed Humphrey) at Rolling Hills Refuge
Claire's path to the Cosmosphere ran through OCCK, district retail management, and the Salina Area United Way — before a recruiter convinced her she didn't need to move to Hutchinson
The Cosmosphere holds the most U.S. space artifacts outside the Smithsonian and the most Soviet artifacts outside Moscow
Founder Patty Carey started with a stargazing ball in a chicken coop at the Hutchinson Fairgrounds in 1962
SpaceWorks, the Cosmosphere's fabrication and restoration division, did approximately 90% of props for the film Apollo 13 and has worked on the Apple TV+ series For All Mankind
The Cosmosphere restored Liberty Bell 7 — Gus Grissom's Mercury capsule — after it was recovered from the ocean floor where it had sat for decades
Jeff Bezos's dive team recovered Saturn V engines from the ocean; the Cosmosphere's SpaceWorks division did the F-1 engine restoration
The Cosmosphere received a flown Merlin engine donated by SpaceX and is getting a SpaceX parachute that visitors can touch
Artemis II astronauts have called the Cosmosphere the best space museum in the world
Summer camps run from 3rd grade through 12th grade; in 2025 the Cosmosphere celebrated 40 years of camps with an alumni reunion
A brand new drone camp is launching in summer 2025 in partnership with K-State Salina
A Cosmosphere alum who works at JPL spent an entire day with Ryan Gosling during the making of Project Hail Mary — and the film is currently playing in the Cosmosphere's dome theater
Sally Ride and Kansas astronaut Steve Hawley were married in Salina, in the backyard of Hawley's parents' home on Santa Fe Avenue
Sydney's segment took a wild turn through 1957 newspapers.com rabbit holes — Sputnik coverage, moon tourism satire, vintage marriage advice columns, and grocery ads featuring 63-cent rump roast

Chapters

0:00 – Baby Rhino Surprise

2:18 – Podcast Intro / Space Nerds

2:58 – Meet Claire Ludes

3:31 – Unboxing Cosmosphere Swag

5:43 – Claire's Career Journey

8:31 – Artemis II Buzz

11:10 – Cosmosphere Origin Story

15:17 – Iconic Artifacts Spotlight

18:09 – Keeping Up With Space

21:47 – Museum Renovation Tour

25:29 – Camps & Mission Control

29:58 – Soft Skills From Space Camp

33:02 – Space Inspiration & Spinoffs

34:58 – Project Hail Mary Talk

35:59 – Cosmosphere Dome Film

36:40 – Learning the Museum

38:35 – Education Pipeline Impact

41:20 – Kansas Partnerships

44:46 – Salina Space Trivia

48:08 – Museums Shape the Future

48:48 – SpaceWorks Restoration Story

50:41 – Merch & Stickers

53:44 – Sputnik Newspaper Oddities

58:23 – Marriage Advice Rabbit Holes

1:04:36 – Vintage Grocery Ads

1:05:47 – Wrap Up & Goodbye

Resources Mentioned

The Cosmosphere — Hutchinson, Kansas
Rolling Hills Refuge — Salina, Kansas (home of baby rhino Creed)
NASA Artemis Program
SpaceX

Learn more about the podcast at askakansan.com!

This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network, for more information, visit ictpod.net

Space Odyssey at the Kansas Cosmosphere with Claire Ludes | Ad Astra Kansas