The virtual programs listed below are available for communities that provide housing to the aging population in Iowa (sometimes referred to as Senior Living Communities or SLC) and Iowa Senior Centers. Please review the requirements on our Request a Live Program page to determine if your organization has the technological capabilities to host a live virtual program.
Connected for Life organizes programming and content through themes that explore objects in our collections focused on art, archaeology, natural history, and historical archives. These themes help to unite the diverse collections among four world-class museum and library units at the University of Iowa (UI): Stanley Museum of Art, Office of the State Archaeologist, Pentacrest Museums, and UI Libraries.
The presenters are as follows: SM=Stanley Museum, OSA=Office of the State Archaeologist, LIB=UI Libraries, PM=Pentacrest Museums.
This map illustrates villages and travel routes of the Ioway people. Learn about why it was created and see archaeological objects from sites located on the map.
What does it mean to collect something and why do people collect? What does it say about us as humans, society, and history? Explore the meaning behind the art of collecting. Audiences will get to meet people with unique personal collections and the stories their collections tell.
Designed to Win: An Examination of Presidential Political Buttons
How can one’s entire political philosophy fit in a 1-inch diameter space? What can something as small as a pin-back button do to rouse crowds into action, inspire allegiance for national support, or convince someone to oppose a rival? From the collection of J. Patrick White (Iowa alum), this exhibit examines the art and rhetoric of historic presidential campaigns and the buttons that were designed to win them.
Hard Won Not Done: Untold Stories of the Suffrage Movement
Commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment. Presenting the exhibition, “Hard Won, Not Done: A Century’s Struggle.” we examine the suffragists’ work at the national, state, and local levels which carried us through our first step toward gender equality: a woman’s right to vote. A monumental step, it was but the first of many—some still ahead.
The roots of farming in Iowa go back more than 3,000 years. Evidence from archaeological sites and the oral histories of Indigenous peoples teaches us about these plants, who grew them, and the tools they used.
Grant Wood is the most famous artist to come from Iowa. We’ll learn about his life through his work and discuss his lasting impact on the state and the world.
A look at some of the State of Iowa’s 39 New Deal Post Office Murals. From 1934-43, there were 1400 murals created nationwide in 1300 cities. Learn about the artists behind the murals and their artwork in the Stanley Museum of Art collections.
Beyond Food: Ancestral Native American Use of Deer and Bison
Hunting was a vital resource for Ancestral Native Americans. Besides essential nutrition, bison and deer provided raw materials for everything from tools and string to musical instruments and beautiful artwork. Archaeology provide a glimpse into the creative uses found for these creatures.
Around 1830, Wacochaci, a important Meskwaki chief, created amazing pictographs on pen and paper that depict 100+ species of animals, birds and fish. View these pictographs and see archaeological artifacts that were created from or relate to species drawn by Wacochachi.
Native American Uses for Plants: Useful – Beautiful – Sacred
Learn about objects in the Pentacrest and OSA collections that illustrate the many non-food uses that Native People of North America found for plants. Plants from trees to grasses were utilized for building and wood carving, weaving and sewing, and creating colorful and beautiful objects.
Take a journey exploring the historic, cultural, symbolic, and ecological diversity of Trees! Root yourself in the wisdom and healing powers of trees found right in your backyard and at the University of Iowa campus as an official Arboretum! The Pentacrest Museums also offer a monthly outdoor Tree Walking Tour experience, learn more here.
Pets and Domestic Animals: Making Themselves Useful
Archaeologists usually find animal bones that signify food resources or invaders of food stores, but sometimes we find evidence that tells us about special relationships between humans and animals. Domestic animals were companions, assisted with labor, and may have played symbolic roles in the spiritual and cultural lives of the site inhabitants. Here we examine artifacts at OSA that teach us about humans and their animals in Iowa’s past.
At Home in Iowa: The Archaeology of Homes in the 19th and 14th Centuries
Comparing objects and features found during archaeological excavations from a 19th century dairy farmstead in eastern Iowa and a 14th century ancestral Native American earthlodge home in western Iowa.
Fake it till you Make It: Story of the Shakespeare Forgeries
In 1795, London was rocked with the news that original papers written in Shakespeare’s hand had emerged. Notes, legal documents and even an unknown play had been found in an old trunk. Or so the story went. Join the UI Libraries on this bizarre tale of how a young law clerk named William Henry Ireland created a frenzy in the scholarly world with his Shakespeare forgeries.
Style and Adornment from the Past – What Are People Saying?
When people choose what clothing and adornments to wear, they send messages to those around them. For those “in the know” these choices can reflect cultural rank or status, particular skills, or spiritual relationships. This program takes a deep dive into OSA collections to examine artifacts associated with personal adornment, from 18th-20th century Euroamerican and Native American sites and from Ancestral Native American sites dating back 1000+ years. Can we understand what people of the past were communicating?
What is fashion? What is style? Are we what we wear? Looking at the ways in which people of different times and cultures used clothing and adornment to express themselves and fit into the cultural norms of their times.
Explore the range and diversity of artifacts types in Iowa, from deep time to recent history, and learn about the people these objects tell a story about.
What does it mean to collect something and why do people collect? What does it say about us as humans, society, and history? Explore the meaning behind the art of collecting. Audiences will get to meet people with unique personal collections and the stories their collections tell.
We’re going to learn more about art (paintings, jewelry, ceramics, photography, sculpture…) while learning more about each other. The Stanley Museum of Art will lead the show and tell with objects from the their collections and continue the conversation with participants while applying the Elements of Art (line, shape, form, space, texture, value, and color). 1) Show a piece of art or craft from your collection – one you created or one that was gifted to you. 2) Tell us why it’s important to you.
Avocational Archaeologists: Collectors Helping Preserve Iowa’s Past
Iowans have been enthusiastic about artifact hunting for generations. When conscientious avocational archaeologists partner with professionals, we build our knowledge of the archaeological past in ways we couldn’t do alone. We focus on four collectors who have made important contributions to our understanding of Iowa archaeology.
The Impacts of Fakes, Forgeries, and Natural Objects on Building Archaeological Knowledge
In archaeology, what defines an artifact? How do we tell when something is natural versus human-made or authentic versus a forgery? When it comes to personal collections, does it matter? We explore how archaeologists define artifacts, laws and ethics that strive to guide the the hobby of artifact hunting, and how forgeries and the buying and selling of artifacts impact our study of the past.
The Old Capitol Tour: Stories under the Golden Dome
The Old Capitol dome is the University of Iowa’s logo and remains one of the most recognizable images and landmarks in the state of Iowa. In the 175 years since the cornerstone was laid, the building has undergone multiple additions and renovations, as well as surviving a major fire in 2001. Travel back in time to discover the many fascinating stories, people, events, and societal impact this building witnessed over its 175 years of existence.
