Open Range Zoo

In the photos on this page are just a few of the unique creations that Jim Dickerman has designed
and can be seen throughout Lincoln County.

If you travel Lincoln County in north central Kansas, keep your eye out for Jim Dickerman’s “Open Range Zoo.” For more than 25 years, Dickerman has been combining scrap metal, old farm equipment, car parts, animal bones and feathers, driftwood, limestone, antlers and just about anything else you could think of to create his magical creatures. He sees himself as rather passive in this process, letting the pieces he finds decide what kind of creature they want to be. 

Since 2000, Dickerman, who lives in Lincoln County, has been creating his “Zoo.” He asked friends and land owners if it would be okay to exhibit his creations in their pastures, on top of billboards, utility poles, fence posts, hilltops, yards and all sorts of unexpected places. It is a visual surprise around every bend.

From just west of Lincoln moving east to Tescott on K-18, and from Lincoln south to I-70 on K-14, you will spy some very unlikely creatures as Dickerman has dotted the landscape with his creations.

While Kansas has a wonderful interstate system, sometimes you need to forego the beaten path to find the interesting and unique.