During your visit to this Des Moines, Iowa attraction, explore permanent and temporary exhibits that interpret the stories of Iowa’s growth and development from Ice Age glaciers that deposited rich topsoil to an exhibit about Iowa's legacy with the silver screen throughout history. The Museum also offers café dining.
Exhibits
First Floor Exhibit Galleries
The Delicate Balance
Learn about Iowa’s abundant natural resources from prehistoric times to the present day. In The Delicate Balance exhibit you can explore signs of ancient life uncovered in Iowa’s prairies and streams, discover extraordinary ancient skills practiced by those who lived in Iowa long ago and the results of their artistry, and learn how people have used Iowa’s natural resources.
Captive Nature: The Wildlife Dioramas of Joseph Steppan
Captive Nature: The Wildlife Dioramas of Joseph Steppan features animal skins transformed into beautiful wood and glass-encased dioramas. Steppan's dioramas preserve the memory of the state's disappearing wildlife, such as elk, prairie chicken and bear, being forced from their natural habitat by America's westward expansion.
Iowa and the Civil War: Nothing But Victory
Iowa and the Civil War: Nothing But Victory recounts the first-hand experiences of Iowans at war and the communities that supported them through over 300 artifacts and documents. As you explore the 10,000-square-foot exhibit you will see historic battle flags Iowa soldiers carried and weaponry they used including cannons, guns and swords.
Monument Hall
Monument Hall features a map of the monuments and memorials on the Iowa State Capitol grounds. Study the map featuring photos and descriptions of many monuments, including "Shattering Silence", a monument that commemorates many of the groundbreaking civil rights court rulings by the Iowa Supreme Court.
A City at Work
In the spring of 1912 two itinerant photographers arrived in Dubuque, Iowa to shoot the pictures that would become the Klauer Collection. For three weeks they traveled throughout the city with a large-format camera and a magnesium powder flash lamp photographing workers in factories, offices, shops, saloons and even the operating room of St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, leaving behind roughly 440 extraordinary photographs documenting a city at work. One hundred years later, in 2012, Tim Olson, set out to photgraph the city of Dubuque at work once again. Olson shot with a Rochester View 8x10 camera (cira 1900). The lens used for most of the shots was a 1910 Wollensak Velostigamat wide angle, which matched almost exactly the focal length of the lens used to make the 1912 photos. This unique collection of photographs, on loan from Loras College, is now on display at the State Historical Museum.
Second Floor Exhibit Galleries
Riding Through History
Learn about cycling in Iowa through artifacts, stories, photos and videos, including a bicycle from 1869 owned by Wesley Redhead. Highlighted in Riding Through History is Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, an iconic Iowa tradition and one of the state’s largest cultural events.
Saving Stuff
Learn about the differences between “restoration” and “stabilization” and discover why some artifacts are best left untouched. Saving Stuff showcases more than 100 artifacts from the Museum’s permanent collection of papers, metals/silver, clay pottery/stoneware, natural history specimens, wood furniture and more.
You Gotta Know the Territory
Take an in-depth look at Iowa’s early years before statehood was granted in 1846. You Gotta Know the Territory explores how native Iowa cultures lived. Learn about the Black Hawk Purchase Treaty of 1832 and how it opened the Territory of Iowa for settlement. See how the immigration affected Native Americans, or examine the relationship between traders, Native Americans and the US Government.
Hollywood in the Heartland
Hollywood in the Heartland explores Iowa’s legacy with the silver screen throughout history, leading up to the state’s most recent contributions to American film. See how Iowa and its residents have been portrayed on-screen, discover the beauty of Iowa’s historic theatres and their role in Iowa communities, or meet the individuals who have made an impression on-screen and behind the scenes.
Third Floor Exhibit Cases
Curator’s Choice: The Art of Model Making
Curator’s Choice: The Art of Model Making explores this popular past time. Showcased in the exhibit are rare and extraordinary examples of models such as ships, buildings and steam-powered engines.
Dr. Norman E. Borlaug
Learn about the life and work of Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. This Cresco, Iowa, native is one of the only three Americans to ever receive the trifecta of humanitarian awards. Wining the Nobel Peace Prize, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Café Barratta’s offers a seasonal menu with classic bistro fare. Located on the 3rd floor of the State Historical Museum of Iowa. Café Baratta’s boasts beautiful views of downtown Iowa as well as the capital building from indoors or on its outdoor patio.
Travel Tips
- The State Historical Museum of Iowa is ADA complaint. Wheelchairs are available for use.