To investigate, to seek… what will we find?!
Examining maps, observing what objects we collect and why, reflecting on events in history, and researching specific genres and people in the arts are all forms of exploration. We present programs on topics we want to learn more about and think you will too.
Images
Stanley Museum of Art “Exploration” Gallery
Ruth T. Thorne-Thomsen Views from the Shoreline: Thunderhead 1986 Gelatin silver print 9 x 7 1/2 in. Museum purchase 1989.370 Stanley Museum of Art Joan Liffring-Zug Bourret Wedding Guest, 1960s 1962 Gelatin silver 9 1/4 x 35 1/2 in. The Alden Lowell Doud Collection 2014.100 Stanley Museum of Art Diane Arbus Russian Midget Friends in a Livingroom on 100th Street NYC 1963 Gelatin silver print 20 x 16 in. Museum of Twenty-fifth Anniversary Fund 1995.59 Stanley Museum of Art Lisette Model Lower East Side, NY 1955 Gelatin silver print 19 1/4 x 15 1/2 in. Edwin B. Green American Art Acquisition Endowment 1997.71 Stanley Museum of Art Margaret Bourke-White Hawkeye Village for student veterans and their families, Iowa City, IA April 3, 1947 Gelatin silver contact print 10 x 13 in. Gift of Gary Davis 2010.26 Stanley Museum of Art Anna Atkins Aspidium lobaum, Goudhurry, Kent, 1851-1854 Cyanotype, 13 3/4 x 9 5/8 in. Museum purchase, 1987.3 Stanley Museum of Art Julia Margaret Cameron The Kiss of Peace, 1869 Albumen photograph, 13 1/4 x 11 in. Museum purchase, 1986.25 Stanley Museum of Art Berenice Abbott Untitled (Woman with teacup), 20th century Gelatin silver print, 10 x 8 in. Museum purchase with grant from NEA and matching funds from the UI Foundation through an exchange with the Charles H. MacNider Museum, 1995.153 Stanley Museum of Art
Office of the State Archaeologist “Exploration” Gallery
13VB124 (Iowaville), Van Buren County. Three silver circular brooches. Time period ca. 1765-1820s. Catalog/Accession number: 191.21/12658. 13VB124 (Iowaville), Van Buren County. Gunflints. Time period ca. 1765-1820s. Catalog/Accession number: 191.51a-b, 174.11, 183.14, 113.7. 13AM200 (Lane Enclosure), Allamakee County. Pottery in situ. Date of photo unknown. 13AM200 (Lane Enclosure), Allamakee County. General view of the site and the crew, looking north. Date of photo unknown. 13VB124 (Iowaville), Van Buren County. Site overview, facing northwest. Patt Murphy in foreground. Photo taken in 2010. 13VB124 (Iowaville), Van Buren County. Brass objects from ca. 1765-1820s. Point, rococo, pin, tack head, circular pieces, butt plate tang. Catalog/Accession numbers: 132.15, 191.36, 142.4, 201.11, 129.17, 191.3, 205.12, 174.16. 13LO2 (Blood Run), Lyon County. Catlinite (pipestone) manufacturing waste. Time period of significance ca. A.D. 1500-1700. Catalog/Accession numbers: Ly-5J, Ly-8J. 13LE110 (Wever Terrace), Lee County. Copper pendant from ca. A.D. 1300-1600. Catalog/Accession number: 7584/F1105.
University of Iowa Libraries “Exploration” Gallery
Videos
Coming soon!
Other Media

The 1837 Ioway Map
Preview the 1837 Iowa Map! This interactive website is part of OSA’s live virtual program for Senior Living Communities, but is available for all to explore. The website features photos of artifacts and sites found at sites related to the map.
Virtual Programs
A presentation and Q&A with the Office of the State Archaeologist (60 min)
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.
A presentation and Q&A with the Stanley Museum of Art (60 min)
A discussion on this innovative American sculptor.
A presentation and Q&A with the Pentacrest Museums and UI Libraries (60 min)
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.
A presentation and Q&A with the Stanley Museum of Art (60 min)
Explore some of the most well-known art movements through pieces from the Stanley Museum of Art collections.
A presentation and Q&A with the Pentacrest Museums (60 min)
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.
A presentation and Q&A with the Pentacrest Museums (60 min)
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.
A presentation and Q&A with the UI Libraries (30 min)
A look at the Brinton Entertaining Company Papers and what they reveal about early film shown in Iowa.
A presentation and Q&A with the Stanley Museum of Art (60 min)
The history of decorative and studio glass seen through objects by Louis Comfort Tiffany, Dale Chihuly, and other artists.
A presentation and Q&A with the Stanley Museum of Art (60 min)
A discussion on female photographers including photographs in the Stanley Museum of Art collections.