Past Exhibitions

zoom	4/3/2010 - 5/16/2010   "Sioux City History Projects"
The 19th annual exhibition of 4th grade projects showcasing the students' knowledge of local history.

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1/16/2010 - 3/21/2010   "Siouxland's First Peoples: 1100 to 1800 A.D."

Over the past 1,000 years native people ranging from the prehistoric Mill Creek and Oneota cultures to the historic period Yanktonai and Santee have left elements of their material culture behind. These artifacts include pottery remnants, projectile points, and tools fashioned from stone and animal bone. Only a portion of these items in the Museum's collection have been made available for public display over the years. The exhibit will also feature the original artwork of Winnebago artist Chuck Raymond (1931-1989) whose renderings provide a colorful and imaginative depiction of native life.

zoom	11/14/2009 - 1/3/2010   "Quilts from Our Collection"
A variety of quilts dating from the 1840s to the 1970s are on display from the Sioux City Public Museum's exhibit.

zoom	11/7/2009 - 1/3/2010   "Nature's Kaleidoscope: Treasures from Earth and Beyond"
Favorites from the world class collection recently donated by Dr. James Hartje, including agates, gems, fossils, petrified wood and meteorites.

zoom	8/8/2009 - 11/1/2009   "Nature's Kaleidoscope: Treasures from Earth and Beyond"
An exhibit featuring a world-class collection of recently donated agates, geodes, minerals, fossils, petrified wood and meteorites.

zoom	4/4/2009 - 5/17/2009   "Sioux City History Projects"
The 18th annual exhibition of 4th grade history projects. Nearly 100 projects are on display, chosen for their quality, creativity and uniqueness from approximately 700 projects completed by Sioux City students. Examples include the Sioux City Corn Palaces, Green Gables, and Orpheum Theatre.

zoom	1/17/2009 - 3/22/2009   "Dino-mite Discoveries: Draco & Friends"
Displays of the fossilized remains of dinosaurs, early mammals, and the newly discovered Dracorex hogwartsia, a 66-million-year-old, first-of-its-kind, dragon-like dinosaur that was named to honor celebrated children’s book author J.K. Rowling.

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11/22/2008 - 1/4/2009   "Wrapped up for the Holidays: Toys & Quilts"

Get into the holiday spirit with an exhibit featuring displays of hand-made quilts and classic toys from the Museum’s collection. Among the toys are tea sets, games, and dozens of dolls from the 1840s to the 1960s. The quilts on display date from the 1830s to the 1930s and represent a variety of popular patterns including patchwork and Log Cabin designs. Their detailed patterns, designs, and stitching meant that most of these quilts were a family’s ‘best’ pieces and were not for everyday use. Two Crazy quilts are incorporated into the décor of the restored Victorian bedroom on the Museum’s second floor.

zoom	8/16/2008 - 11/2/2008   "The Original Corn Palace City"
What started as a celebration of 1887’s bountiful harvest grew into a national promotional campaign for Sioux City and one of the unique chapters in local history. Through photographs, documents and artifacts, this exhibition examines the phenomenal structures that became symbolic of Sioux City’s boom era in the late 1800s.

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6/14/2008 - 8/3/2008   "Twenty Years/Twenty Stories"

Experience places and cultures of the world including, India, The Arctic, The Antarctic, Greenland, El Salvador, the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Costa Rica through the photographs and stories of acclaimed explorer and Iowa native David Thoreson. This traveling exhibit seeks to sensitize the individual’s awareness of a global community and, in turn, create awareness in the individual as a participant in that community.

zoom	5/23/2008 - 6/8/2008   "The Floyd’s Fury: Taming the Destructive Floyd River"
The 55th anniversary of Sioux City’s worst natural disasters is marked by a limited second-run of an exhibition tracing the history of the Floyd from 1880 to flood control efforts in the 1960s. On June 8, 1953, 14 people died and 2,000 people were left homeless when the Floyd River left its banks.

zoom	4/5/2008 - 5/18/2008   "Sioux City History Projects Exhibition"
This annual exhibition features history projects made by 4th grade students from participating schools in Sioux City. The projects are models and posters of some of Sioux City’s historic landmarks, events and people. More than 50 projects will be on display, chosen for their quality, creativity and uniqueness from approximately 700 projects completed by Sioux City 4th graders.

zoom	2/2/2008 - 3/30/2008   "A Morningside Scrapbook"
The history of one of Sioux City’s most distinctive areas is showcased in a varied selection of photographs and a stained glass window from the Arthur Garretson Mansion.

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2/2/2008 - 3/30/2008   "More Dynamite Donations"

An exhibition of recent additions to the collection of the Sioux City Public Museum, including needlework from the Winnebago tribe, geological and archeological finds, uniforms and equipment from the Sioux City Police and Fire Departments, Vietnam War-era clothing and gear, Lewis and Clark paintings by local artist Robert Sissel, miscellaneous Sioux City memorabilia, and Sioux City Stock Yards equipment such as whips, locks, and the fire axe kit from the Live Stock Exchange Building.

zoom	12/1/2007 - 1/27/2008   "Quilts from Our Collection"
Selections from the Sioux City Public Museum’s quilt collection ranging from an 1880s “Friendship” quilt to a Hmong “story cloth” quilt made in 1997.

zoom	12/1/2007 - 1/27/2008   "Christmas Toys through the Decades: 1930-1970s"
A display of classic toys from the personal collection of local KSCJ radio personality Larry Fuller.

zoom	10/13/2007 - 11/25/2007   "Native Illustrations by Chuck Raymond, Part II"
An exhibition of noted Winnebago artist Chuck Raymond’s rarely-seen artwork of Native American tribes from the Southwest and Northwest Coast.

zoom	8/11/2007 - 11/25/2007   "Perry Creek Floods Again! "
A pictorial exhibit highlighting an area of Sioux City that has undergone a dramatic transformation in an effort to control the flooding that has plagued much of its history. Photographs of the 1908, 1909, and 1990 floods and the resulting damage tell the area’s story.

zoom	8/11/2007 - 10/7/2007   "Leeds – Revisited"
Sioux City’s appetite for industrial and residential “elbow room” in the late 1880s manifested itself in the development of Leeds, located just outside the then-city limits. A separate town until it was annexed into Sioux City in 1890, Leeds has a unique character that is showcased in the varied collection of early photographs on display.

zoom	5/6/2007 - 8/5/2007   "Dynamite Donations"
An exhibition of recent additions to the collection of the Sioux City Public Museum, including locally-made products, heirlooms from prominent families, and drawings from several famous Sioux City artists.

zoom	4/7/2007 - 5/20/2007   "Sioux City History Projects Exhibition"
This annual exhibition features history projects made by 4th grade students from participating schools in Sioux City. The projects are models and posters of some of Sioux City’s historic landmarks, events and people. More than 50 projects will be on display, chosen for their quality, creativity and uniqueness from approximately 700 projects completed by Sioux City 4th graders.

zoom	1/27/2007 - 3/25/2007   "Juvenile Radio Show AD-ventures"
A look back at the radio show advertisements and premiums that captured the imagination of Depression-era children. Full-color comic strip ads and the collectibles they promoted are showcased in this private collection of memorabilia from the heyday of radio.

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1/6/2007 - 3/25/2007   "The Riverside Story"

Trace the development of one of Sioux City’s oldest and most distinctive areas. Established in the late 1880s along the banks of the Big Sioux River, Riverside thrived with its railroad and brick industries as well as its entertainment and recreation venues. Historic photographs of the Diving Elk, Council Oak tree, baseball games, fairs, roller coaster, and railroad roundhouse explore the area’s unique character.

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11/18/2006 - 1/21/2007   "Roaring 20s Fashion"

The Roaring 20s were a time of both rip-roaring fun and complicated social change. Within this period, new fashion styles emerged and the young women leading this change were known as Flappers. The exhibition at the Museum will highlight women’s flapper dresses, hats, and accessories, as well as personal items that were coming into more common use at the time such as cigarette or cosmetic cases. Men’s clothing from the period will be on display as well.

zoom	9/2/2006 - 11/5/2006   "Collect Call for the Museum!"
A collection of switchboards, telephones, and photographs recently donated by the local chapter of the Telephone Pioneers of America.

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5/27/2006 - 8/27/2006   "Worth A Thousand Words - Photographs by George Newman"

Worth A Thousand Words contains selected 1940-50s era photographs from long-time local newspaper photographer George Newman. Along with personal portraits and agricultural scenes, the exhibit includes celebrity photographs such as Walter Cronkite reporting from KSCJ in 1949 and Roy Rogers visiting a sick child during the polio epidemic in 1952. Personal photographs on loan from Newmans family and photographic equipment from the era are showcased in the exhibit as well.

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11/26/2005 - 1/22/2006   "Warmth, Hope & Joy for the Holidays: Red, Green & White Quilts"

Warmth, Hope & Joy for the Holidays: Red, Green & White Quilts exhibit is a display of fourteen hand-made quilts featuring colors that symbolize the holiday season. The quilts showcased in the exhibition are from the Museum’s collection as well as on loan from private collectors. While a few of the quilts on display feature simple patchwork designs, most are red and green appliqué quilts. This style of quilt was popular from the 1840s to 1900 among upper class women who had the means and time to sew such labor intensive quilts. These quilts were most often made after a young woman announced her engagement or made later in life when a woman had more time to quilt. The detailed patterns, designs, and stitching were a testament to the woman’s skill, and therefore, the quilts were their ‘best’ pieces and not for everyday use.

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