Museums Iowa
Library

Browse Museums

African American Museum of Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Culture, General, History, Library

Iowan history showcased via interactive exhibits and exciting educational programs. Because African American history is American history.

Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
West Branch, Iowa

Library

Research library and museum encourages an understanding of the life and times of Herbert Hoover and the American experience.

Iowa Masonic Library & Museums
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Library

Home to over 100,000 volumes on Freemasonry, Iowa history and religion. Museums include one on Freemasonry and a general collection.

Luther College Ethnographic and Archaeological Collections
Decorah, Iowa

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History, Library, University

Luther College is the home of five distinct collections which provide students and faculty with access to original materials for instructional and research purposes. Together, the Luther College Archives, Anthropology Collections, Fine Arts Collection, Geology Collection, and the Hoslett Museum of Natural History contain well over a million items, ranging from rare eggs to fine art, ancient fossils to arrowheads, and insects to college memorabilia. The collections' supervisors work closely with the college's Museum Studies Program to provide on-site study, work, and research experiences.

Marshall County Museum
Marshalltown, Iowa

History, Historic House, Historical Society, Library

The Historical Society was formed in 1908 to provide a public link to Marshall County's past. It exists to collect, store, and preserve artifacts and documents that were used or manufactured in Marshall County. The Historical Society Museum building associated with the Society was opened to the public in 1987 at the current location in Marshalltown, Iowa. The museum displays the Society's collections that illustrate and interpret Marshall County's natural and human history. The Central Iowa Genealogical Society has it's home base in our museum library.

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Library

Dedicated to the preservation and promotion of Czech & Slovak history and culture. Enjoy the permanent exhibition "Homelands: The Story of the Czech & Slovak People", as well as temporary exhibits and a restored 19th Century immigrant home. Research library and Gift Shop also available.

The Danish Immigrant Museum
Elkhorn, Iowa

Art, Culture, General, History, Library, Park, Specialized

The Danish Immigrant Museum will tell the story of the Danish immigrants and the Danish-American experience and is organized to collect, preserve, study and interpret their material, culture and traditions.

The History Center
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

History, Historic House, Library

The Carl & Mary Koehler History Center is the historical heart of Linn County, Iowa. Permanent exhibits on the growth and development of the county, as well as temporary exhibits that focus on the historical significance of items in the museum's collection, bring history alive for visitors of all ages. The center is also home to an extensive historical archive/library where scholars, students, local government officials and geneologists can conduct research.

University of Northern Iowa Museum
Cedar Falls, Iowa

Archaeology, Art, Culture, History, Historic House, Library, Natural History, Science, University

The UNI Museum is comprised of the University Museum (a museum of nature and culture) and the Marshall Center School (a restored historic one-room schoolhouse). They are administered by the Department of Museums & Collections at the University of Northern Iowa, within the Rod Library.

German American Heritage Center
Davenport, Iowa

Art, Culture, General, History, Library

A growing ethnic museum focusing on the German-American in the Midwest. Located in an historic immigrant hotel, this museum explores German American immigration to the United States on the impact these individuals and their descendents had on regional development.

Hudson Public Library
Hudson, Iowa

Library

N/A

James & Meryl Hearst Center for the Arts
Cedar Falls, Iowa

Art, Culture, Library

Small regional arts center and sculpture garden featuring temporary exhibits and a permanent collection.

Luther College Fine Arts Collection
Decorah, Iowa

Art, Culture, Library, University

The Luther College Fine Arts Collection presents fine art works to students and the larger community. While many of the artists represented in the Collection originated from the upper midwest, exemplified by College Artist Orville Running, most notable works were created by artists outside that area. Collection concentrations include works by California potter Marguerite Wildenhain; German Expressionist Gerhard Marcks, and New York artist Frans Wildenhain. Norwegian-American art, principally represented by the artist Herbj?rn Gausta, pre-Columbian pottery; and Inuit sculptures are also prominent elements of the Fine Arts Collection.

National Balloon Museum and US Ballooning Hall of Fame
Indianola, Iowa

History, Library, Science, Specialized

Come and surround yourself in history and the "Beginning of the Space Age" with Ballooning from 1783 to the present. Learn about many of the Pioneers of Ballooning from our Hall of Fame and Women in Ballooning displays. The Children' Learning Area will entertain and teach them about ballooning through simulated video games, videos , balloon pictures and books.Our collection covers gas,smoke and hot air balloons as well as airships, blimps and Zeppelins and their memoribilia.

Swedish American Museum
Swedesburg, Iowa

Cemetery, Church, General, History, Historic House, Historical Society, Library, Military

The Society created the Swedish American Museum to collect and catalogue artifacts of Swedish heritage and early immigrants of the Swedesburg area. The Museum is housed in The former Farmers union Exchange (FUE) building, built in 1928 by second generation Swedish Farmers. The FUE served Swedesburg and the surrounding area as a general store and Gathering place for the settlers in the area. The building is typical of stores which once dotted the Iowa countryside. The facility is available for meetings, tours and meals.Reservations are required in advance.

The Fluxus Indian Museum
Coon Rapids, Iowa

Anthropology, Archaeology, Culture, History, Library, Natural History, Park

The museum represents 12 years of research and work by FLUXUS Midwest. The museum's current collection comprises more than 150 objects, relics and documents. This digital version of the FLUXUS INDIAN MUSEUM is part of the continuing effort to promote knowledge about the Fluxus Indians.

The Restored Burlington Northern Depot & WWII Memorial Museum
RED OAK, Iowa

Culture, History, Historical Society, Library, Military, Specialized

The architecture of the Depot is the Richardson Romanesque Style which influenced the first Chicago School of architecture and architects such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. That Style, named after Henry Hobson Richardson, generally follows Romanesque Revival Style, incorporating 11th century southern French and Spanish Romanesque characteristics, plus Richardson designs, which can be observed on the Depot.

MUSEUM CONFERENCES

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

February 17 - 19, 2025

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Small Museum Association 41st Annual Conference 2025

Monday, February 17 - Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Gaithersburg Marriott Washingtonian Center

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Hosted by: Small Museum Association

The annual SMA conference attracts more than 300 museum professionals, board members, and volunteers from a wide variety of small museums. They attend sessions on topics ranging from collections and education to staffing and board issues.

We offer a large Museum Resource Hall and plenty of informal networking opportunities for you to talk with (and get ideas from!) other small museum professionals and volunteers

Theme for 2025: Make It Happen!!!

Is there an exhibit, program, or fundraiser that you've been talking about doing for years? Do you feel stuck because of procrastination, lack of board support, or insufficient funds? It's time to take action

At SMA 2025, small museum professionals will share their tips and tricks of how they made it happen!

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

February 18 - 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

2025 California Association of Museums Conference

Tuesday, February 18 - Saturday, February 22, 2025

San Fransico, California

Hosted by: California Association of Museums

CAM is hard at work planning for the 2025 conference, set to take place from February 18–22, 2025 in San Francisco. We look forward to highlighting best practices and innovative ideas from California's museum community

The California Association of Museums is excited to continue offering in-person programming for 2025. We will not be requiring proof of COVID vaccination/s, but highly encourage vaccination and boosters. For the health and safety of our colleagues, masks are also encouraged (but not required). Capacity and spaces will be thoughtfully considered in the planning of this event.

For more information, please email [email protected].

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

March 15 - 18, 2025

Blacksburg, Virginia

Virginia Association of Museum's 2025 Annual Conference!

Saturday, March 15 - Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Inn at Virginia Tech

Blacksburg, Virginia

Hosted by: Virginia Association of Museums

2025 Conference Theme: Looking Back to the Future For the past several years, many museums have been deeply involved in planning programs and events to observe the 250th birthday of the United States of America. While this is certainly an occasion to celebrate, this anniversary also forces us as a society to reckon with ongoing inequities and challenges within the US that go back to its inception. As museums ask their audiences to look to the past to understand the present and shape a better future, perhaps now is a good moment in time for Virginia’s museum community to take pause and look back at its own history. We are excited to see you in Blacksburg in March 2025 as we take a moment in our hectic schedules to take pause and visit our diverse pasts. Let’s uncover and share our histories to build a more resilient Virginia museum community.

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

September 10 - 13, 2025

Cincinnati, Ohio

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

Wednesday, September 10 - Saturday, September 13, 2025

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

Hosted by: American Association for State and Local History

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email [email protected].

view all conferences
RECENT UPDATES

Museums

03/07 Pointe Coupee Parish Museum

New Roads, Louisiana

03/07 Uintah County Heritage Museum

Vernal, Utah

Museum Vendors

03/07 Digiscura

Encino, California

Museum Associations

03/07 Oregon Museums Association

Portland, Oregon

03/07 Virginia Association of Museums

Richmond, Virginia

03/07 American Association for State and Local History

Nashville, Tennessee

03/07 Small Museum Association

Dover, Delaware