TOPEKA, Kan.—After a year in which Kansas endured destructive ice storms, killer tornadoes and severe flooding, it seemed the state history museum carefully timed the opening of an exhibit on extreme weather.

But organizers say the timing is a coincidence, because they have been working on the “Forces of Nature” exhibit for more than a year.

“Weather is a huge part of our identity,” said Rebecca Martin, project manager for the exhibit, which opened Friday at the Kansas Museum of History. “People around the world will forever associate us with a really famous tornado in ’The Wizard of Oz.”’

The Kansas State Historical Society is using the exhibit to collect Kansans’ recollections of memorable storms. The society set up a small booth with a microphone and computer, so that visitors can tell and record their stories.

“We often think—let’s admit it—that other residents of other states are really wimps, right? That we really know how to survive weather here,” said Jennie Chinn, the society’s executive director. “We all have our family folklore that revolves around weather.”