The University of Iowa Mobile Museum will visit the Winnebago Grand National Rally in Forest City today as part of an extended trip across northern Iowa.
The museum, a 38-foot RV custom built by Winnebago Industries, is returning to company headquarters as part of the annual celebration. The museum will be located at the Winnebago Visitors Center, 1045 S. 4th St., and will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum will then move to the rally grounds, where it will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow. In addition, the Winnebago staff who helped construct the vehicle will tour the museum, seeing it for the first time since exhibits were installed.
“When the Mobile Museum left the Winnebago plant in February it was an empty shell,” says Dan Reed, vice president for research and economic development. “We are excited to share the finished product with the Winnebago team. The vehicle they’ve built is inspiring enthusiasm for science and history in Iowans across the state.”
The Mobile Museum features an array of exhibits that focus on three very different eras in Iowa’s history:
- Iowa’s Ice Age Giants explores the great mammals that roamed the state during the last ice age and their sudden extinction.
- Glenwood: Iowa’s Ancient Agriculturalists tells the story of the Glenwood culture centered in the Loess Hills and their connections to the Iowa landscape through agriculture.
- Cornerstones focuses on the founding of Iowa and writing of its constitution, the building of the Old Capitol building, and the creation of the UI.
The museum also features a new digital wall that allows visitors to learn about—and interact with—modules about UI space research, the Santos Virtual Soldier program, and the UI Flood Center’s sophisticated flood-prediction mapping systems, as well as additional information on Iowa archaeology. More than 5,000 people have visited the museum since its launch in April.
“This is a museum built by Iowans, for Iowans,” Reed says, adding that the museum is part of a broader initiative to cultivate new, more active partnerships across the state, helping individuals, businesses, communities, and government be successful. He says he’s committed to sharing the assets of the university with all the citizens of Iowa.
The Mobile Museum spent yesterday evening in Hawarden as part of the Department of Natural Resources’ Project AWARE, a week-long canoe trip focused on cleaning and protecting the Big Sioux River. State archaeologist John Doershuk and archaeology educator Elizabeth Reetz presented on the archaeology of the Big Sioux River to program participants. On Saturday, the museum will appear at the RAGBRAI expo in Rock Valley, where it will join a team of riders from the Office of the State Archaeologist, to follow the week-long cycling tour of the state.
“Team Archaeology has been providing educational opportunities along the RAGBRAI route for years now, and we’re excited to expand on this with the Mobile Museum,” says Doershuk. “We’re hoping that the communities along the route will have a chance to come out and see some of the exhibits and research this project allows us to share with the state.”
The Mobile Museum will be open to the public in each of the RAGBRAI host communities, with tentative hours of 12-7 p.m. each day. Details are as follows:
- Sunday, July 20: Boji Bay Funhouse & Pavilion, 2501 Boji Bend Dr., Milford
- Monday, July 21: Broadway Street near Soper Park, Emmetsburg
- Tuesday, July 22: Forest City, location TBA
- Wednesday, July 23: Mason City, location TBA
- Thursday, July 24: Kohlmann Park, 101 1st St. NW, Waverly
- Friday, July 25: Independence, location TBA
- Saturday, July 26: Guttenburg, location TBA
For more information on planned RAGBRAI stops and finalized locations as they become available, visit the Mobile Museum’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all UI-sponsored events. The Mobile Museum is equipped with a wheelchair lift. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, contact the Mobile Museum in advance at 319-335-2898.