WHAT: The State Historical Society of Iowa’s Historical Library & Archives Research Centers in Iowa City and Des Moines have reopened for in-person visits by appointment only on Thursdays and Fridays. Iowans and others traveling from out of state are encouraged to schedule an appointment. More information is available online.
The SHSI Research Centers help historians, genealogists, preservationists, archaeologists, curators, educators and others involved in research achieve their goals by providing access to 209 million historic documents, photographs, newspapers and more from the state’s vast collection.
IOWA STORIES: In addition, the Research Center in Iowa City is presenting the Iowa Stories series, a collection of fascinating online programs that draw from its artifacts, objects and other materials. The upcoming schedule is below:
June 24: Iowa Women’s Corrections: A History with Erica Spiller
Join Erica Spiller for this discussion about Iowa’s prison history and the time women were sentenced to penitentiaries before their own housing plans were established. Learn more and register in advance.
July 15: The Wall Ridge Excavations: A Modern View of a Glenwood Earthlodge
This program looks at how researchers used cutting-edge methods and archaeological records to shed light on the daily technological, subsistence and dietary aspects of Native American households who lived in the eastern Plains during the 1300s. Learn more and register in advance.
Aug. 12: Grant Wood and the 1930s Artists at the Iowa State Fair
"Regionalists" received numerous awards while participating in Iowa State Fair competitions during the 1930s. This presentation deals with multiple Iowa artists of the era and examines Grant Wood’s connections to Iowa State University and a friendship he had with an influential woman named Zenobia Ness. Learn more and register in advance.
Sept. 29: Iowa Child Welfare Research Station
Working in a destitute orphanage during the Great Depression, little-known psychologists at the Iowa Child Welfare Research Station accidentally discovered that the environment changes children's intelligence. Learn more and register in advance.
The State Historical Library & Archives Research Centers are part of the State Historical Society of Iowa, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. More information is available at iowaculture.gov.
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and its three divisions – the Iowa Arts Council, Produce Iowa - State Office of Media Production and the State Historical Society of Iowa – empower Iowa to build and sustain culturally vibrant communities by connecting Iowans to the people, places and points of pride that define our state. The department’s work enables Iowa to be recognized as a state that fosters creativity and serves as a catalyst for innovation where the stories of Iowa are preserved and communicated to connect past, present and future generations.