Iowa's People & Places

Iowa history and culture reflect the experiences of many people – from the land's first inhabitants to present-day residents. The Iowa's People & Places curated collection from the Iowa Department of Cultural Affair's Days of Learning program provides dynamic digital selections, videos and more from staff experts and was created in partnership with other cultural and humanities organizations. These educational resources help Iowans – regardless of age, zip code or learning style – to celebrate Iowa culture, to better understand Iowa's past and to preserve its stories for the future.

Discover Iowa's rich heritage through virtual exhibitions. Both of the featured exhibits were shared by the Iowa Women's Archives at The University of Iowa Libraries in Iowa City. 

• Migration is Beautiful: Migration is Beautiful is a digital humanities project drawn from the holdings of the Mujeres Latinas collections preserved in the Iowa Women's Archives. The Migration is Beautiful website highlights the journeys Latinos and Latinas made to Iowa and situates the contributions of Latino communities within a broader understanding of Iowa's history of migration and civil rights activism. 
• The Mysterious Mildred Benson: The Life and Works of a Ghost Writer from Iowa: For decades, readers of the popular Nancy Drew series never knew that the series' author, Carolyn Keene, was a pseudonym. This search for the author’s identity led to Iowa native Mildred Wirt Benson. In this online exhibit, learn more about Benson, the quest to uncover her identity and her role developing the popular series.

Research with Digital Archival, Manuscript and Library Collections

Examine the stories of Iowa's growth and development with selected digital collections from the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa Women's Archives and the Northwestern College Archives. Featured resources highlight diverse stories of leadership and social justice among Iowa's immigrant and non-white communities, early Dutch settlement records, the Reverend Jesse Jackson's 1988 Iowa campaign records and digitized editions of the Iowa State Bystander.

See Photographs from Iowa's Past

Browse Flickr albums that showcase Iowa's people and places. The two selected albums are from the State Historical Society of Iowa's special collections, which contain nearly half a million photographs representing a wide range of Iowa subject matter and communities and include photography in all of its historic forms – from daguerreotype to digital. 

Take a Virtual Art Exhibition Tour

View a 3D virtual tour showcasing the "For America: 200 Years of Painting from the National Academy of Design" exhibition at the Figge Art Museum through May 16, 2021. This tour features 100 paintings from the National Academy of Design that highlight the artist's portrait with his or her diploma work. The Academy was founded in 1825, and required that any elected National Academician must donate one of their artworks to its collection. Over the decades, these submissions have grown into a distinctive collection of art that includes nearly every major American artist. 

Discover Digital History Resources

The State Historical Society of Iowa has created a variety of history resources for educators. Through free and accessible digital resources, students will have an increased awareness of Iowa's countless historic objects, images and records. 

Primary Source Sets
Recommended for Grades K-12
The Primary Source Sets are free and downloadable digital collections that address state, national and international history. The sets were created for K-12 educators, align with the Iowa Core Social Studies Standards and include more than 1,400 primary sources. Below are four selected digital collections that showcase Iowa's unique people and places.

• Buxton: A Lost Utopia (K-5)
• How States Get Their Shapes (6-8)
• Iowa's Connection to the World (6-12)
• Rural Life in a Modern Age (9-12)

Read Iowa History
Recommended for Grades K-5
Use the Children's Lives: Comparing Long Ago to Today module to explore how play has changed over time for Iowa's children. The materials for educators include: primary sources, lessons, worksheets, historical introduction to the topic, assessments and vocabulary lists/cards. Read Iowa History resources offer free, downloadable and easy-to-follow lessons to help educators integrate primary sources and the Iowa Core Standards for Social Studies and Literacy. 

Goldie's History Kits
Recommended for Grades K-5
Use Goldie's History Kit: Meskwaki Culture to help students investigate who the Meskwaki are and what aspects of Meskwaki culture are similar to or different from their own. Goldie’s History Kits provide educators access to the State Historical Museum of Iowa's collections, and these digital kits – which align with Iowa Core Standards for Social Studies and Literacy – encourage students to develop deeper connections to Iowa's history. 

The Goldfinch
Recommended for Grades 3-8 
Read a selected collection of The Goldfinch magazines that focus on Iowa's people and places. The Goldfinch was an Iowa history magazine for children published quarterly by the State Historical Society of Iowa from 1975-2000. Each issue focuses on a theme and includes articles, games, photos and fiction. 

Write with Poetry Modules

Recommended for Grades K-12
Want to write a poem? Find some inspiration from several online poetry writing exercises designed by Iowa Poet Laureate Debra Marquart. The exercises use prompts to focus on the components of vivid writing and sensory details. Then, watch Marquart read aloud three poems for the Iowa Arts Council. Marquart recites two of her own poems, "Chokecherry" and "Landline," and a poem by W.S. Merwin entitled, "Thanks."

Watch Featured Videos

Recommended for Grades 5-12
National History Day in Iowa offers year-long academic programs that engage middle- and high-school students in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. The video featured below was created by a student for the National History Day in Iowa program. It is a brief documentary that focuses on an Iowa topic.

Thank you to the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs' Days of Learning Sponsors MidAmerican Energy and Musco Lighting