Temporary Displays & Exhibits

Over Here, Over There: Iowa and the First World War

Iowa Resource Room
Through Fall 2010
“Over Here, Over There: Iowa and the First World War” is on display again in the Iowa Resource Room at the State Historical Museum..

“Over Here, Over There” came 91 years after the first Iowan, and perhaps the first American serviceman, Merle D. Hay (1896-1917), died in World War I and 90 years after hostilities between the Allies and Germany ceased at 11 a.m. Nov. 11, 1918. World War I began in 1914 and officially ended in 1919 with the Treaty of Versailles.

The exhibit includes:

• A blood-stained jacket worn by Colfax native and aviator/writer James Norman Hall when his plane was shot down. Hall survived a German prison camp and later wrote “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1932), “Men Against the Sea” (1934) and “Pitcairn's Island” (1934) with fellow aviator, Charles Nordhoff
• Herbert Hoover’s heroic food relief efforts during the war
• A profile of Marion Crandell of Cedar Rapids, a nurse and the first American woman killed in the war
• World War I weapons
• “Tradition and Valor,” a film about James B. Morris who came to Fort Des Moines, where the U.S. Army trained black officers for the first time in its history
• More than 30 American, French, British and German propaganda posters
• The Jack Pershing rooster, which was auctioned numerous times to raise money for the war effort

Art in Daily Life: The Art of Native Americans

Second Floor Gallery
December 5, 2009 - January 2011

Art In Daily Life, showcases the native American collections of the State Historical Museum. The exhibit, which runs through January, 2011, features American Indian objects of great beauty including beaded tobacco bags, weapons, dolls, war shirts, dresses, moccasins and more – a majority of which have never been on public view.

Art In Daily Life examines Native American objects as both works of art and cultural artifacts. The exhibit shows how items of daily use can be elevated from mere utility to examples of artistic skill and vision.

A Service to Silver: Tribute to the USS Iowa

3rd floor west
This 40-piece silver service was presented by Iowa to the U.S. Navy in 1896 for the then newly-commissioned USS Iowa battleship.

Curator’s Choice: The Art of Model Making

3rd floor west
Model building is a popular pastime for many people. See some rare, fine examples of models including ships, buildings and steam powered engines.

 

 

The Iowa Crinoid

Mezzanine
Once hidden in Iowa’s Paleozoic rocks, crinoids give evidence of the great inland seas and the animals that flourished in the geologic past. We don’t know why these animals died. Did the water temperature rise? Were they suffocated by water that was too muddy? Come to your own conclusion by visiting this display.