Zion Lutheran Preschool Mural: Stop No. 3

The Story

The Zion Lutheran Preschool mural is the most recent addition to Manheim’s mural scene, completed in the late fall of 2025. Horst Arts Center teamed up with Zion Lutheran Church/Preschool and the Lancaster Marimba Ensemble to make this fun project a reality.

Practically, it brings attention to the preschool, which has been a pillar of the community for decades. That was the number one goal. But when we learned of the Lancaster Marimba Ensemble’s desire for a mural to celebrate Manheim’s own Clair Omar Musser, and when we discovered how close he lived to this wall, the idea of collaboration just made sense.

Manheim was home to famed marimba master, Clair Omar Musser. In fact, in October of 2025 Manheim hosted the Musser Marimba Festival with marimba players and enthusiasts arriving from all over the county. Plus Musser lived two doors down from the location of this mural. For these reasons, the marimba is one of the big themes of the mural.

The preschool originally wanted a “Reaching for the Stars” theme. And when we learned that Musser also worked for NASA, and even built a one-of-a-kind celestaphone, with the frame and the bars forged from 678 pounds of meteorites, the collaboration made sense even more.

Horst Arts Center designed and oversaw the creation of the mural. As part of that process they teamed up with art students from Manheim Central High School who are part of the National Art Honor Society. These students were able to learn about the mural creation process and gained valuable experience from assisting with the painting of the mural.

It’s playful, it’s magical, and it’s a joyful expression! It’s a celebration of kids, nature, and the legacy of music—reaching all the way to the sky and beyond. It’s supposed to grab your attention and make you smile. And the hope is that children will be encouraged to “Reach for the Stars”!

A huge thank you those from the Manheim community who donated the funds for this project.