Shawnee Town 1929 Museum is excited to share our year-long partnership with local Girl Scouts (elementary through high school) and the League of Women Voters throughout 2020. All three organizations are working together to celebrate and promote awareness of the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage through various activities, events, and public programs. Any Girl Scout (of any troop and age) is welcome to participate with us in one or all events (if you participate in all events, Girl Scouts will earn their citizenship badge and a Shawnee Town 1929 badge).
- For registration or additional information on any of our Votes for Women! events, please contact Sharron Uhler, Curator of Education, at 913-248-2360, suhler@cityofshawnee.org, or visit our website at https://www.shawneetown.org/education/scouts_and_clubs
- All events are held at either Shawnee Town 1929 Museum at 11501 W. 57th St. or at the neighboring Museum Town Hall at 11600 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS 66203.
Sunday, March 8 – Girl Scout Tea with the League of Women Voters 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. $5 per person. @ Museum Town Hall.
Girl Scouts of all ages, family members, troop leaders and assistants, and League of Women Voters are invited to attend Shawnee Town’s first official Votes for Women event of the year – catered tea with a unique Girl Scout “twist.” A member of the League of Women Voters will talk about how their organization arose from the Women’s Suffrage movement. Amanda Burkhart, Lead Educator with the Watkins Museum of History in Lawrence, will share about the awesome energy, camaraderie, and good that derived from nineteenth and early twentieth century girls and women clubs. We’ll conclude by designing and making Votes for Women buttons, banners and sashes to wear and distribute at Shawnee Town’s 2020 Votes for Women events. Activities and presentations are specifically designed for Girl Scouts K-12. In order to maximize the number of Girl Scouts who can attend, family members attending are limited to one per Scout. Troops may attend as a group and tables (seating 8) may be reserved. Space is limited! Register early.
Wednesday, May 13 – History on Tap presents Votes for Women! The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage in Kansas 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., $5 per person. @ Museum Town Hall Girl Scout Leaders and Volunteers (Adults-Only) meet-up at this event.
Kansas was historically a leader in women’s rights, being just the eighth state to grant female suffrage. Yet the campaign for voting rights in Kansas required more than half a century of determined effort, as women suffered discouraging setbacks in three different statewide initiatives. How did they ultimately persuade an all-male electorate to grant them their rights? What did their long ordeal teach them about perseverance and politics? This presentation will explore the courageous individuals who took on the powerful interests opposed to electoral reform and discover other firsts that Kansas women achieved on the road to full suffrage. Diane Eickhoff and Aaron Barnhart will talk about the leading role Kansas played in the long road to the passage of the 19th amendment. This presentation is funded by Humanities Kansas.
We have a special treat this evening, unique to the 19th amendment centennial celebration scene in the Kansas City. Besides, bringing several of their local brews, Shawnee’s own Servais Brewery is creating a special Women’s Suffrage beer specifically for History on Tap. Be the first to taste Seneca Falls! Owned and operated entirely by women, Servais is the perfect brewery to celebrate women earning the right to vote.
Wednesday, August 19 – Notable and Notorious People of the Twenties, Movers and Shakers of Women’s Suffrage on Both Sides of the Fence 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., FREE, @ Museum Town Hall
On August 18, 1920, the State of Tennessee became the 36th and final state needed to ratify the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote. One week later, it became law. Come hear first-person interpreters President Woodrow Wilson, Alice Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt, Ida S. Bell, and Harry T. Burn. They will recount the amazing roles they played in its passage. Alice Paul will sew the 36th star on the Woman’s Suffrage banner and hold it aloft as we mark this important anniversary. Designed and created by local Girl Scouts and the Museum, come early to receive your Votes for Women pin, sash, or banner to wave during the presentations. There will be time to ask questions of our presenters both “in” and “out” of character.
Wednesday, August 26 – Jammin’ on the Green with the Grand Marquis and 100th Anniversary Celebration of women’s right to vote
7:00 – 8:30 p.m. FREE, @ Shawnee Town 1929 Museum
This is THE date – the actual date – that Congress passed the 19th amendment 100 years ago! We will be Jammin’ with the Grand Marquis as we celebrate its passage with Girl Scouts presenting the colors and hoisting the Women’s Suffrage banner, songs, and anniversary cake. The Grand Marquis will feature songs by Bessie Smith, one of the all-time great female jazz performers of the day. Come help the community mark this momentous occasion! Girl Scouts are presenting colors, distributing women’s suffrage information, and serving cake and drinks.
Sunday, October 11 – Girl Scout Citizen Badge Workshops and Awards
2:00 – 4:00 p.m., $5 per person, @ Museum Town Hall
In cooperation with the Johnson County League of Women Voters, Girl Scouts from K-12 will attend workshops geared towards attaining their citizen badges. This has been a year-long process working with the League and Shawnee Town on Votes for Women events celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. After the workshops, there will be an awards ceremony with refreshments afterwards.
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