Caucus Iowa
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exhibit website
An in-depth look at Iowa’s first-in-the-nation
political caucuses in a 10,000 square foot exhibition
celebrating Iowa’s unique brand of citizen-democracy.
Portrait
of a Governor: A Life, A Legacy
Iowans elected their 41st governor in November. What
makes a great governor? Why does your voice in the upcoming
election matter? Find out how the decisions of Iowa’s
chief executives affect our lives everyday. “Portrait
of a Governor” features the 39 men elected to
40 governorships and the three men appointed governor
of the Iowa Territory – from current Governor
Tom Vilsack to the first governor of the Iowa Territory,
Robert Lucas, who held the office 1838-1841. Governor
Samuel J. Kirkwood was elected to non-consecutive terms,
1860-1864 and 1876-1877.
The exhibit includes information, portraits and artifacts
from the governors’ public and personal lives,
and features Iowa’s four living governors –
Vilsack, Terry Branstad, Robert Ray and Robert Fulton
– in separate videos discussing their experiences
before, during and after they held the office.
In addition, the exhibit features Vilsack, Branstad
and Ray with their spouses – Christie Vilsack,
Chris Branstad and Billie Ray – in a video discussing
their motivation and decision-making process in seeking
the office, and their accomplishments and challenges
as chief executives and first ladies. Hosted by WHO-TV’s
John Bachman, the video also reveals the impact their
public roles had on their personal lives.
Explore the fascinating stories behind the men who
have led our state in Portrait of a Governor: A
Life, A Legacy, now at the State Historical Museum.
Iowa
Medal of Honor Heroes
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exhibit website
The
“Iowa Medal of Honor Heroes” exhibit is
a permanent state-of-the-art multimedia kiosk located
in the rotunda of the Iowa State Capitol building. The
exhibit is also on the Internet accessed via the link
above. It recognizes Iowa soldiers who received the
Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military
award. The Medal of Honor is given for distinguished
gallantry during hostile action and is presented by
the President of the United States in the name of Congress.
Authorized in 1861 by President Abraham Lincoln, the
Medal of Honor has recognized the valor and sacrifice
of 108 Iowans in 10 major conflicts. Fewer than 3,500
soldiers have received the award, more than half of
them posthumously.
Mammoth:
Witness to Change
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exhibit website
The close of the great
Ice Age brought many changes to the upper Midwest. It was an ending time and a
beginning time. The mighty surges of ice sheets and glaciers from the north had
ended. Great rivers, vegetation, animals, and the landscape itself changed as
the climate warmed. With these changes came human habitation.
The great beasts that had lived during the Pleistocene epoch watched as their
world and their dominance disappeared. Among these huge beasts were the largest
of them all—the mammoths.
Once monarchs of their realm, mammoths now relinquished dominance to humans.
Once protected in their long, woolly coats, they now faced warming temperatures
and a changing environment.
Two particular mammoths, separated by a few hundred miles and a few hundred
years, witnessed their world changing. Their deaths, in what are now Iowa and
Wisconsin, preserved those particular moments in time.
Honor
the Colors: Iowa's Civil War Battle Flags
Herrick
II Gallery: Second Floor West, State Historical Building
More
than one half of the male population of Iowa served
in the Civil War (1861-1865). This exhibit tells the
story of the sacrifice and dedication of those men.
In their own words they tell who they were, how they
were equipped, why they fought. The exhibit includes
more than 350 objects including weapons, uniforms, artillery,
and original art. Also featured are examples of battle
flags recently conserved through the Iowa
Battle Flag Preservation Project.
The
Delicate Balance: Human Values and Iowa's Natural Resources
A
look at lowa's natural resources and how people have
used them from prehistoric times to the present. This
exhibit features wildlife, fossils and Native American
collections. Try standing in the cramped coal mine,
listen to the miners at work and drill a shot hole into
the coal.
You
Gotta Know the Territory
Examines
Iowa's early years as a territory (1838-1846). Explore
native cultures, immigration, farming, town life and
human rights. Push a plow, carry water buckets with a
shoulder yoke, and watch a video which narrates the
diary of people moving to Iowa.
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