Entry No. 42 — the Wichita file — filed under: public-art
The Celestial Mechanic (buried spaceman sculpture, WSU campus)
Buried in a Kansas pasture for years to rust convincingly, then installed half-excavated under a glass dome on the WSU campus, Randy Regier's 2018 sculpture depicts a fictional fallen astronaut assembled from a 1951 Kelvinator refrigerator torso, a jukebox selector helmet, an airplane nose cone pelvis, and chrome cookware limbs sourced from thrift stores. The dome can be lifted, and in September 2024 Regier literally opened it on-site to walk visitors through his process — the piece is still out there, still dirty, still glinting under glass. WSU's own "15 little-known facts" listicle warns it's easy to miss, which is exactly what makes finding it feel like a secret handshake.
The story
Before Randy Regier put his fallen astronaut on display, he did something delightfully stubborn: he buried it in a Kansas pasture and left it in the earth for years. He needed prairie dampness and soil chemistry to corrode the metal into a genuine rust patina—because you simply cannot fake years of underground decay. Assembled in 2018 under the title *The Celestial Mechanic*, the figure is a Frankenstein monster of mid-century industrial salvage: the torso is a 1951 Kelvinator refrigerator, the helmet is a jukebox selector mechanism, the pelvis is an airplane nose cone, and the limbs are cobbled together from chrome thrift-store cookware.
When Regier finally exhumed the piece, he installed it on the Wichita State campus, set half-excavated beneath a clear dome in the grass like a crash site campus officials are quietly leaving unannounced. (WSU’s own internal guides warn that it's remarkably easy to walk right past it.) Peer closely through the glass down into the dirt at the astronaut's orange belly and you'll find a small metal dove riveted into the housing—a quiet, secret signature reflecting Regier’s Mennonite faith embedded inside a retro-futuristic corpse.
What it's like
Head to the green space south of Ahlberg Hall, near the Geology Building, and look at the ground rather than the sky. You'll need to crouch right down over the glass dome set into the lawn to catch the metal glinting in the dirt below. It's totally free, unscheduled public art on an open university lawn with no ticket booths or security gates. Aim for a bright, sunny afternoon so sunlight pierces the glass, and keep in mind that campus parking meters on Fairmount Street are strictly enforced during weekday business hours, though rules relax significantly on evenings and weekends.
The move: Walk the WSU campus to the south side of Ahlberg Hall and crouch down to peer through the dome at the rust-patinaed spaceman, then see how long it takes your date to spot the small dove riveted into his orange belly — Regier hid it there as a quiet nod to his Mennonite faith.
📍 Before you go This is free, open-air public art on Wichita State's active campus, so there's no ticket or gate to worry about — you can simply walk up to it. Aim for the green space on the south side of Ahlberg Hall, near the Geology Building, and come in daylight so you can actually see the detail through the glass. WSU visitor parking is metered or permitted on weekdays, but the rules tend to ease on evenings and weekends; check the current campus parking guidance. The piece belongs to the Ulrich Museum of Art's outdoor sculpture collection, which scatters dozens of works across campus — grab the Ulrich's sculpture map and make a longer art walk of it.
- 📍 Wichita
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 1845 Fairmount St, Wichita, KS 67260 (south of Ahlberg Hall, near the Geology Building)
Hours: Added 2026-06-09 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- WuShock: Fighting-Mad Wheat Statue — Walk a tenth of a mile across campus to trade buried sci-fi surrealism for an eight-foot bronze statue of furious, muscular wheat.
- Original Pizza Hut Museum — Head 0.3 miles over to the WSU Innovation Campus to step inside the actual 500-square-foot brick hut where the global pizza chain started in 1958.
- Wilner Auditorium at Wichita State University — Continue your campus hunt 0.4 miles away at Wilner Auditorium, a drama building allegedly haunted by a former theater director.
Good to know
Where on campus is the buried astronaut located?
It sits in the grass on the south side of Ahlberg Hall, close to the Geology Building near 1845 Fairmount Street.
What vintage items make up the sculpture?
Randy Regier built the astronaut using a 1951 Kelvinator fridge body, a jukebox channel selector helmet, an airplane nose cone pelvis, and chrome cookware limbs.
Why is the sculpture so rusted?
Regier buried the finished artwork in a Kansas pasture for several years before installing it on campus to achieve an authentic, earth-worn patina.
Do I need tickets or museum admission to see it?
No, it's an outdoor piece in the Ulrich Museum of Art's public collection and can be visited free of charge 24/7.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: news.wichita.edu · wichita.edu · anabaptistworld.org
last checked: 2026-06-09