A volunteer hands out golden eggs to participants following the Easter egg hunt.
Lawrence community joins the Dole Institute for the 2024 Easter Egg Roll with Dole
April 25, 2024 - Features
by Greta Hayden | Student Archive Assistant
Guests in attendance sit on the Dole Institute’s East Lawn while listening to Tim Kubart perform live music.
On Saturday, March 30, 2024, the Dole Institute hosted its annual Easter Egg Roll with Dole. Families participated in a variety of Easter and civic-themed educational activities, such as an egg hunt and crafts, inside and outside the Institute. The event was open and free to the public and welcomed over 1,050 visitors, 540 of whom were children.
The Dole Institute keeps an old White House tradition alive. The egg roll, the namesake of the event, is a traditional game dating back to 1878 that was held at the White House. Other outdoor games available on the lawn included the “Dole Hole”—a mini golf set resembling the Dole Institute—Connect Four, hula hoops, and sidewalk chalk drawing, among others.
One of the main events was an outdoor Easter egg hunt, held every multiple times throughout the day. After finding the eggs, participants received their coveted souvenir Golden Egg. Guests also received a Dole Institute branded teal pencil bag containing candy and sunglasses. For children who were too little to participate in the main egg hunt, an egg corral was set up for them to search for Easter eggs in hay. The egg-hunt fun continued inside the museum; over 50 Easter eggs were hidden inside the museum display cases.
Live Easter bunnies returned to the Dole Institute this year, where children were able to pet, and even hold, live rabbits in a bunny corral. The bunnies were courtesy of Bergene Rabbitry, an area rabbit breeder. An additional spring-themed photo area was set up where kids and their families could take photos while holding the rabbits.
In a new partnership for the event, the Lied Center of Kansas brought a performing arts feature to this annual event. This year, Grammy award-winning musician Tim Kubart performed live on the Dole Institute lawn for families to enjoy and dance along to.
Continuing its partnership with the Lawrence Public Library, they graciously hosted author Jo Renfro in her appearance to promote her new book, Peg Gets Crackin’. Guests could attend her free book reading during storytime in Hansen Hall and had the chance to purchase their own signed copy of the book on-site, courtesy of the Raven Book Store.
Additionally, the Lawrence Public Library hosted a craft table with Easter-themed crafts. Dottie, the Lawrence Public Library bookmobile even made an appearance in the parking lot, bringing books available for check out from the library.
Members of the community are invited to join the Dole Institute for next year’s Easter Egg Roll with Dole on Saturday, April 19, 2025!
The 2024 Easter Egg Roll with Dole was sponsored by Walmart. Special thanks to our partners—the Lawrence Public Library and the Lied Center of Kansas.
Greta Hayden is a Student Archives Assistant at The Dole Institute, and a third-year student at the University of Kansas studying modern history and Italian studies. Hayden assists the archives staff and fellow students with archival projects. She has aided her supervisor, Julie Clover, in several civic educational programs hosted by the Dole Institute.
About the Dole Institute
The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics, a vibrant forum for civil discourse, civic engagement, and idea exchange across the political spectrum, features historical archives, exhibits, and public programs for all ages. Inspired by the public service of native Kansan, veteran, legislator, and statesman Senator Bob Dole and his wife Senator Elizabeth Dole, visitor galleries feature changing exhibits, the Kansas Veterans Virtual Memory Wall, architectural-scale stained glass American flag, and September 11 memorial.
The Dole Institute is committed to universal accessibility in all programs and resources. We are in the process of making all of our web projects fully accessible. An accessible version of the material represented on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact us at doleinstitute@ku.edu to request the material be made available in an accessible format, or for general assistance.