Beth Hoffman was living the good life: she had a career as a journalist and professor, and a comfortable home in San Francisco. Yet in her late 40s, she and her husband decided to leave the big city and move to his family farm in Iowa—all for the dream of becoming a farmer, to put […]

Iowa’s Lost History from the Titanic What do an orphan train rider, a kidnapper, a missionary, a wealthy businessman, a wedding guest, a betrayed wife, a farmer and an immigrant recruiter have in common? All had ties to Iowa, and all were passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic on the fateful night of April 15, 1912, […]

Savor Iowa’s Culinary HistorySavor Iowa’s amazing food heritage! Iowa’s delectable cuisine is quintessentially Midwestern, grounded in its rich farming heritage and spiced with diverse ethnic influences. From the chili-and-cinnamon-rolls phenomenon to Maid-Rites to the moveable feast known as RAGBRAI, discover the remarkable stories behind Iowa classics and savor a smorgasbord of other unique Iowa food […]

The Butterfly Effect: ­ Why Do We Feel Empathy with the Victims of War, Hunger, Terror and Natural Disasters?Referring to her book, “Torn Out Memories,” Dr. Hutchins tells the experiences of a child living under the Nazi occupation of Poland and during the Warsaw Uprising. She relates her personal trauma to the terrors suffered by […]

Flowers of the PrairieWith a copy of the “Prairie and Woodland Flowers Coloring Book” as reference, this presentation identifies prairie wildflowers, their common English names and Linnaeus-based classification in Latin. It informs when they blossom, where they grow and what medicinal and food uses have they served during the times of early pioneers and Native […]

Iowans You Should Know: Stories from the Iowa Almanac (new in 2021)Did you know that the Eskimo Pie® was invented in Iowa? So was the electric razor, the clip-on bow tie, and the self-filling fountain pen. Iowa was also the childhood home of four Academy Award®-winning performers, and three different Iowa-born musical acts had national #1 […]

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Iowans who fought against the UnionMost Iowans think that the state was solidly pro-Union during the Civil War. After all, some 76,500 residents fought for the North. In reality, Iowa Democrats formed a spectrum of dissent. The majority of Democrats opposed abolishing slavery (and yet favored the Union war effort); the minority sympathized with the […]

Flowers of the PrairieWith a copy of the “Prairie and Woodland Flowers Coloring Book” as reference, this presentation identifies prairie wildflowers, their common English names and Linnaeus-based classification in Latin. It informs when they blossom, where they grow and what medicinal and food uses have they served during the times of early pioneers and Native […]

Packing UpLook in on Laura Ingalls Wilder as she is packing up to move to Missouri. Each artifact in the old chest holds a story.

DreamsGabby GuerraGabby Guerra is a proud immigrant from Santa Ana, El Salvador. In 2002, she and her family were forced to immigrate to Iowa due to the violent and impoverished conditions in El Salvador. Gabby grew up in Des Moines and faced many challenges in learning a new language and navigating a different culture. Gabby […]

Off the Map: Stories of Abandoned and Disappearing Towns Around IowaThousands of towns and communities were established during Iowa’s pioneer and railroad era. In some instances, they were small towns built around the time of the height of a coal industry that just could not thrive while others supplemented the needs of the countless farmers, […]