State Historical Society mobile museum makes a stop in Charles City

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

The State Historical Society of Iowa’s mobile museum rolled into Charles City on Wednesday, replete with examples of Iowa history from the society’s museum in Des Moines.

Jessica Rundlett, special projects and outreach coordinator with the State Historical Society, was seated in a lawn chair outside the entrance to the RV, next to driver John Carlson, greeting people as they came to visit. The vehicle was parked on Main Street, next to Central Park, around the corner from the second-to last downtown farmers market of the season.

“I’ve been working on this ‘History on the Move’ project for about five years,” Rundlett said. “This is our second 99-county, three-year tour of Iowa.”

Carlson, who has also been with the program since its inception, said sometimes they drive the mobile museum to a stop for a couple of hours, such as in Charles City, then drive back to Des Moines or on to the next location, and sometimes he drops the RV off for a couple of days then comes back later to pick it up.

While Rundlett and Carlson aren’t always with the Winnebago, it is usually on the road somewhere, he said.

Rundlett said the Mobile Museum was last in Dunkerton, over the weekend, and they were headed back to Des Moines Wednesday evening.

She gauged the turnout Wednesday as going “pretty well for a blustery fall evening,” but a few minutes later they packed up the lawn chairs and she waited with Carlson in her car as dark clouds rolled in and stiff winds began throwing leaves and other tree detritus into the air.

The squall passed quickly, however, and the mobile museum remained open for the final hour of its Charles City sojourn.

The State Historical Museum exhibits are housed in a custom-built Winnebago. The 300-square-foot museum on wheels launched in 2017 and completed its first 99-county tour in 2019, making 175 stops along the way and attracting nearly 65,000 visitors, including 11,400 students, according to information from the historical society.

The current exhibition, “Iowa History 101: Iowa’s People & Places,” debuted last year and will continue its journey through 2023.

The new exhibition shares stories from Iowa’s past with an eclectic array of artifacts from the State Historical Museum of Iowa’s permanent collection, plus a video narrated by WOI-TV host Jackie Schmillen.

The current tour includes images and objects designed to remind visitors of the role Iowans have played in global events, including efforts to support passage of the 19th amendment guaranteeing women’s right to vote, according to State Curator Leo Landis.

“It’s easy to overlook the significant contributions Iowans have made in promoting equality and liberty, but this exhibit can inspire all Iowans to understand and appreciate Iowa’s past and promote these values,” he said.

The idea for the mobile museum started in 2014 from a series of community conversations organized by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, which oversees the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Iowans may request a visit from the mobile museum for their local schools, libraries, museums, community festivals, county fairs and other places where people gather. Visits are complimentary and the tours are self-guided.

More details are available at iowaculture.gov. Iowans can also follow the mobile museum’s statewide journey on Facebook at facebook.com/IowaHistory.