Winter at YOUR museums

Happy New Year! Our winter newsletter is here. Don't miss a thing this season at your museums.

Winter hours:

Old Capitol Museum & Museum of Natural History
Wednesday - Saturday
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Read on for fall and winter closure dates

News at a glance:

Closures
Upcoming exhibits
Programming
News

MARK YOUR CALENDAR:

Please note: The Pentacrest Museums will be closed to the public during the following dates:

Annual Winter Closure: 1/1/25 - 1/15/25

NEW EXHIBITION:

DRUG ADDICTION: REAL PEOPLE REAL STORIES

Opening January 25, 2025

On display through December 2025

The Old Capitol Museum will debut a new exhibition with the INTO LIGHT Project. An opening reception featuring guest speakers, exhibition engagement, and refreshments will take place Saturday, January 25, 2025. Remarks by University of Iowa Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel and INTO LIGHT Project Founder/CEO Theresa Clowder begin promptly at 1:00 in the Senate Chamber.

Please join us for the opening by registering to reserve your space; seating is limited.

Visit our website to learn more about the exhibit, campus-wide curricular connections, scheduling class visits, and conjunctional programming throughout the year.

Reserve your seat

PROGRAMMING:

BOUND TO COLLECT: Exploring Literary Collections

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Virtual Program

The Pentacrest Museums invite you to Bound to Collect: Exploring Literary Collections—a tale of two librarians whose passion for collecting books and creative literary games will inspire and entertain you. Join us virtually over the lunch hour for a deeper look at 2 collections currently on display in our My Collections exhibition program. Whether you’re a bibliophile, a collector, or someone who simply cherishes stories and games, this event will spark your imagination and offer a new appreciation for the many ways we connect with literature.

RECURRING EVENTS

STUDY HALL

Wednesdays, weekly

12-2 p.m. Bird Hall

ART & WRITE NIGHT

First Fridays, monthly

6-8 p.m. Meet in Bird Hall

READ ON THE RUG

Second Wednesdays, monthly

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Iowa Hall

Please note: There are no occurrences of our monthly events during January. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming in February, after our annual winter closure.

NEWS:

NEW PUBLICATION

We are delighted to announce the first edition of the annual yearbook of the International Panorama Council has been published. Volume 1 of the Panoramic and Immersive Studies Yearbook features papers on historical and contemporary panoramas and related immersive media, with special attention given to the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History's Laysan Island Cyclorama.

The Cyclorama is featured on the cover and throughout the book with photos and writing by Pentacrest Museums Communications Specialist Jessica Smith. Also found within is writing on the Cyclorama via an IowaMag reprint by Jack Tamisiea with research contributions by Pentacrest Museums Director Liz Crooks, Director of Research Collections Cindy Opitz, and Jessica Smith. Special contributions as section editor for the journal were also provided by Liz Crooks.

Learn more or get your own copy HERE.

GROUND FLOOR PROJECT

If you've been by lately, you may have noticed work underway on some of our ground floor exhibit cases. We're refurbishing for easier access when caring for our exhibits. These updates may seem minor, but they require big effort and make a huge difference in the longevity of our galleries—none of which is possible without the support of our donors. Thank you.