Mini Wheat State Tour
The Hall Center's Mini Wheat State Tour gives faculty and staff a chance to learn about the geography and history of Kansas and the region.
2026 Mini Wheat State Tour: Colby
This year’s excursion will take KU faculty and staff to Colby — a rural community of about 5,500 people in Northwest Kansas, nicknamed the “Oasis on the Plains.” Colby was founded in 1885, and serves as an agricultural hub and traveler’s reprieve as the largest city along I-70 between Hays and Denver.
Destinations for the trip include the Frahm Farm, the Judy McCarty Dairy Learning Center, and the newly renovated local hospital, Citizens Medical Center. KU scholars will share insights on how their research is relevant as we visit each of these sites.
Colby is the fourth annual destination of the Mini Wheat State Tours. Previous tours have taken KU members to Nicodemus, Wilson and Lucas in 2023, Kansas City, Kansas in 2024, and Atchison in 2025.
Join the Tour
If you are interested in participating in this year’s event—free to KU faculty & staff, regardless of discipline—please sign up here by 5pm on Thursday, October 8.
Itinerary Day 1: Friday, Oct. 23, 2026
- 9:00 AM: Depart from Hall Center for the Humanities
- 12:30 PM: Lunch in Hays, KS @ Gella’s Diner/LB Brewing
- 2:00 PM: Depart Hays
- 4:00 PM: Frahm Farmland Shop & Scale
- 7:00 PM: Holiday Inn Express
Itinerary Day 2: Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026
- 9:00 AM: Depart Hotel
- 9:30 AM: Judy McCarty Dairy Learning Center
- 11:30 AM: Citizen’s Health Hospital
- 12:30 PM: Lunch at Prairie Museum of Art & History
- 2:00 PM: Depart Colby, KS
- ~7:00 PM: Arrive back at Hall Center for the Humanities
Questions?
Contact Eliott Reeder at eliottor@ku.edu if have questions about the tour.
Tour Origins
The first Wheat State Tours began in the early 2000s and were designed to take faculty and staff, many new to Kansas, throughout the state to gain a better understanding of where many of their students come from and to learn more about the state they serve. It was in a similar spirit that the Hall Center revived a version of the tour in 2023.
The Hall Center's Mini Wheat State Tour gives faculty and staff a chance to learn about the people, geography, and history of the region to which they have moved for work. It provides new and seasoned faculty and staff an opportunity to learn more about (1) the communities from which many of their students come; (2) their colleagues in other disciplines across campus; (3) opportunities for research and outreach collaborations, both on campus and off. The trip also enables folks in other parts of the state and region to understand KU faculty are invested in them.