boyer museum of animated carvings

We made this museum our's day's destination a couple of weeks ago but were disappointed to find that it doesn't keep regular hours in October and, just so you know, it's closed all winter. There are two phone numbers on the door, and I spoke with Ann, daughter of the artist, who knew her sister (the other number) was out and who was up to her elbows in a varnishing project and unable to let us in. A private opening is $20, by the way, should the ladies be available. Normal admission is $12 each. This is not unreasonable. It's just a good thing to know. There is almost nothing to see without admission, so my pleasant experience was really only that Ann was so personable and warm. She explained that her dad had many health problems but still went to work in his workshop whenever he was up to it. She kindly referred us to other places to see in the area. In fact, I'd already been by the library and found that to be a great facility with equally kind and communicative. The downtown looked like a fun place to hang out. So even though I didn't make it into the museum, I'm a Belleview fan. We'll try again another year.

We went out of our way just to visit this museum. My husband is a real fan of animated art and wood carving so we planned part of our trip to swing through Belleville, Kansas (about 70 miles north of Salina, Ks - half way between Interstates 70 & 80).We had high expectations of the museum and we were not disappointed! The several dozen animated exhibits are awe inspiring for the level of their intricacy. Many are fanciful dioramas with fun animated caricatures that will make you smile. Those without the caricatures are fascinating conglomerations of intricate gears and carvings that are elegantly mechanized.Kansas recently defined the Boyer Museum of Animated Carvings as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas in the Art category.Enjoy!