Contact: Jeff Morgan, Jeff.Morgan@iowa.gov, (515) 281-3858

(DES MOINES) –A full slate of fun-filled events are on tap this month at the State Historical Museum, 600 E. Locust Street in Des Moines’ Historic East Village. Visit www.iowahistory.org or call 515-281-511 for more information.

Here is February’s event schedule:

“Hatching the Past: The Great Dinosaur Egg Hunt”
Open through May 6
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday
$5 per person, free for children 12 and younger, at the Iowa Museum Store. (Children 12 and younger receive free admission due to the support of Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield.)
“Hatching the Past: The Great Dinosaur Egg Hunt” is a hands-on exhibit that offers an array of authentic dinosaur eggs and nests collected from all over the globe – including those of each of the major plant- and meat-eating dinosaur groups. “Hatching the Past” presents new findings about dinosaur reproduction and behavior and introduces some of the people and science behind the discoveries. The multi-media experience helps give credence to long debated theories that dinosaurs and birds are closely related. A captivating experience for all ages, “Hatching the Past” invites visitors to see or touch more than 300 dinosaur bones and reconstructed nests – one more than eight feet in diameter – dig for eggs, experience hands-on exploration stations and view animated video presentations featuring dinosaur experts.

Toddler Tuesday
Feb. 6, 13, 20 & 27
10:30 to 11 a.m.
Free
Story time and hands-on activities for children ages 3 to 5 years old. Reservations requested for groups of more than 10 people. Call 515-242-5193.

History Hunter Museum Vault Tour – General Collection
Feb. 17
10:30 a.m.
$12 per person, $8 children ages 7-12 at www.iowatix.com
" Museum curators lead behind-the-scenes tours through the museum’s “vault,” an underground climate-controlled storage center that is home to more than 110,000 artifacts. Curators offer entertaining and educational presentations about artifacts, the stories they hold about Iowa’s rich history, and how the museum collects, catalogs, preserves, studies and displays them. Due to the sensitive nature of artifacts in the museum’s permanent collection, the tour is limited to adults and children 7 and older.

History Hunter Museum Vault Tour – Battle Flag Laboratory
Feb. 17
Noon & 1:30 p.m.
$10 per person at www.iowatix.com (half-price in conjunction with Civil War Festival event listed below). Due to the highly sensitive nature of the work involved, tours are limited to 10 participants age 12 and older.
Take a tour of the Museum’s Battle Flag Preservation Lab where you’ll see Iowa’s historic battle flag collection that includes 317 flags borne by Iowa regiments and batteries during the Civil War, Spanish America War and World War I, the vast majority of which were last seen by the public in the 1890s. Since then, sunlight, smoke, and heavy gauze used to support each flag has caused damage, some of it severe.

Civil War Festival
Feb. 17
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free
Try on Civil War uniforms, learn about Iowa’s Civil War battle flags and how the Historical Society is preserving them, learn the songs of battle and watch drills presented by color guards.

Battle Flag Ball
Feb. 17
5:30 p.m.
$20 per person, $10 children 12 and younger, at www.iowatix.com by Feb. 10
Enjoy an evening of festive Civil War-era music and dancing, pipers, fiddlers and dance instruction. Picnic-style buffet dinner by Café Baratta’s, cash bar and auction. Proceeds support continued conservation of the battle flag collection.

“A Focus on Iowa Geology”
Feb. 24
11 a.m. & 1 p.m.
Free
Educator and author Michael Blair presents “The Geology of Polk County” in two free lectures. How has geology in Iowa changed in the last 4.5 billion years? Learn how Des Moines sits on top of an old mountain, and that the area was a tropical beach 300 million years ago. Iowa geodes will be given away to the first 200 visitors. Offered in conjunction with the State Historical Museum’s new exhibit, “Hatching the Past: The Great Dinosaur Egg Hunt.”

“Tell Me the Story of Iowa”
Feb. 24
1 p.m.
$5 at the door
Live on the State Historical Museum stage, a middle school student, Buffy, needs to write a history report on Iowa. What a bore, she says, until she comes into the museum where exhibits come to life before her very eyes. A fun time for all ages, you will laugh, sing, and perhaps get on stage to act. Written by Cynthia Mercati and Tom Milligan, “Tell Me the Story of Iowa” helps children learn about Iowa and the State Historical Museum. Guests receive a coupon for $1 off the admission to “Hatching the Past.” Call 515-281-4132 for more information.

“A Few of Our Favorite Things: 100 Creations of the 20th Century”
Closes Feb. 25
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Free
Featuring 100 things that made a difference in the lives of Iowans in the 20th Century, this fascinating 9,000 square-foot exhibit will close permanently Feb. 25. From jazz to Jell-O, from airplanes to antibiotics and from computers to credit cards, these items changed the way Iowans live.

Cultural Advocacy Days
Feb. 26-27
2:30 p.m. on Feb. 26
7:30 a.m. on Feb. 27
Free
Cultural Advocacy Days is a two-day event that celebrates and raises awareness of Iowa’s cultural assets. As part of the event, the Iowa Arts Council is hosting MetLife Foundation National Arts Forum Series on the topic “Arts and the Iowa Workforce: Planting and Cultivating Creative Workers” at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 26. A rally and march to the Capitol will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 27. Registration for the rally begins at 7 a.m. Visit www.culturalaffairs.org or www.iowaculturalcoalition.org for more information. Contact Café Baratta’s at 515-281-4658 by Feb. 20 to pre-order lunch.

The State Historical Museum seeks volunteers who can help with theater, library and education programs. Contact Sarah Macht at 515-242-5193 or sarah.macht@iowa.gov.

The State Historical Society of Iowa is a trustee of Iowa’s historical legacy and an advocate for understanding Iowa’s past. It identifies, records, collects, preserves, manages and provides access to Iowa’s historical resources. Its dual mission of preservation and education serves Iowans of all ages, conducts and stimulates research, disseminates information, and encourages and supports historical preservation and education efforts of others throughout the state. Visit www.iowahistory.org or call 515-281-5111 for more information.

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