Explore permanent and special exhibits throughout the University of Iowa Natural History Museum’s galleries that support Iowa’s natural history, located on the first and third floors of the facility. If time permits you can shop a selection of gifts and keepsakes in the Gift Shop.
Iowa Hall
Take a 500-million-year adventure through Iowa’s geological, cultural and ecological history in Iowa Hall. From the Devonian coral reef diorama that depicts the state when it was thought to be underwater 380 million years ago to a full-scale re-creation of a winter lodge made by the Meskwaki, there is much to explore.
William and Eleanor Hageboeck Hall of Birds
Learn about the different aspects of bird life, ecology and evolution from courtship to eggs, nesting and parenting, to feeding and flight in the William and Eleanor Hageboeck Hall of Birds. Additional displays feature bird species recorded as residents or seasonal visitors to Iowa, an interactive computer station on bird sounds, a life-sized model of a Wandering Albatross and a video presentation on bird flight.
Laysan Island Cyclorama
The historic 1914 Laysan Island Cyclorama offers 360-degree views of Laysan, an outpost of the Hawaiian Islands and a bird sanctuary. During its prime, Laysan Island boasted 8 million birds of 22 different species in 1.5 square miles. The Cyclorama is known as one of the first cycloramas in the world to feature a natural theme and one of a handful of cyclorama’s featuring a natural theme that exists to this day.
Biosphere Discovery Hub
Explore the relationship between people and the natural environment. The Biosphere will take you on a journey from ancient rock drawings through 10,000 years of Iowa’s changing natural and cultural landscape, to the health and environmental issues we are faced with today. Further displays demonstrate the different kinds of traces that people leave on the land and UI environmental research addressing global environmental concerns.
Mammal Hall
Discover mammal specimens collected by the University of Iowa faculty and students during expeditions around the world in Mammal Hall. Highlights include a specimen of a rare giant panda from China, a complete skeleton of a 47-foot Atlantic right whale and musk oxen from the Barren Grounds of northern Canada.
The Gift Shop
Located in the Iowa Hall exhibit gallery is the Gift Shop. A wide selection of books and field guides, rocks and minerals, clothes and accessories, plush and plastic animals and other items related to Iowa’s natural history are available to purchase.
- Don’t miss the University of Iowa Natural History Museum’s Diversity of Life exhibits. Found along the ground-floor hallway, the Diversity of Life exhibits feature historic displays that highlight ecology, geology, taxidermy and biodiversity.
- The University of Iowa Natural History Museum is ADA compliant.
- Be sure to pick up a gallery map from the front desk or from the racks just inside the building doors. The University of Iowa Natural History Museum shares space in Macbride Hall with 6 other university departments and classrooms and the museum galleries are not all connected to one another.