Bring Professional Development to Your School District
Looking for best-practice instructional techniques to bring Iowa history to life in your classroom? The Museum Education team will travel to your district with tools, tips, and resources to deliver half-day or full-day professional development sessions for staff at any grade level. Youโll gain practical ready-to-use strategies for teaching inquiry, historical thinking, and literacy through Iowa history.
Iowa History Institute: Iowa to the Civil War
๐ Wednesday, June 10 & Thursday, June 11
๐ 8:00 AM โ 4:00 PM
๐ State Historical Museum of Iowa
A two-day immersive workshop designed to give K-12 teachers behind-the-scenes access to artifacts as we explore Iowa history from 13,000 BCE to 1870 CE. All participants will receive a free copy of Jeff Bremerโs book, A New History of Iowa.
- Learn from ISU professor and author Jeff Bremer and museum staff.
- Interactive visits to the Research Center and Collections Storage.
- Earn 1 license renewal credit.
- Limited to 25 educators.
- Register Here
George Washington and the West
๐ Friday, June 12
๐ 8:00 AM โ 4:00 PM
๐ State Historical Museum of Iowa
Hosted by George Washingtonโs Mount Vernon, this workshop invites K-12 teachers of all disciplines and grade levels to explore the life, leadership, and legacies of George Washington within the diverse 18th-century world in which he lived. Through this collaborative experience, educators will examine how history, place, and perspective can deepen understanding of the past while making meaningful connections to Iowa and the present day.
Teachers MUST teach in formal K-12 classroom or school setting.
- Free copy of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington
- Classroom resources
- Reimbursement for mileage ($0.40/mile) up to $50 per participant
- Catered lunch
- Limited to 30 educators.
- Register Here
Hands-on History: Bring History Alive in the K-6 Classroom
๐ Monday, June 15 & Tuesday, June 16
๐ 8:00 AM โ 4:00 PM
๐ State Historical Museum of Iowa
A two-day experiential workshop for K-6 teachers with hands-on strategies for implementing inquiry, source analysis, and literacy. Youโll do interactive sessions with historical photographs and objects, go on a mock field trip, and build your own mini museum project! Youโll walk away with ready-to-implement strategies, lessons, and activities.
- Free copy of Flashes of Brilliance by Anika Burgess
- Hands-on work in the Research Center and Collections Storage with museum staff
- Staff-led mock field trip tours
- Limited to 25 educators.
- Register Here
ICSS Seminar
From Bees to Boundaries: Step Into Iowaโs Most Bizarre Border Dispute
๐ Thursday, June 17 through Friday, June 19
๐ 8:00 AM โ 4:00 PM
๐ State Historical Museum of Iowa (June 17-18) & Van Buren County (June 19)
This June, ICSS is offering you the chance to explore the Honey War, a little-known, almost-battle between Iowa and Missouri around our shared border. In this seminar, you'll have an archive experience at the State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines and be able to touch artifacts from the period (and, holy cow, Governors Lucas and Boggs threw down!). Then, you can extend your learning by traveling to Van Buren County, where the two state militias (and other random people) stared each other down in a fight over the border. Register using this online form and send $50 deposit to 1579 P Avenue, Madrid, IA in order to secure your spot (your check will be handed back to you when you arrive).
Designing Student -Led Historical Inquiries for 7-12 Students
๐ Thursday, June 25 & Friday, June 26
๐ 8:00 AM โ 4:00 PM
๐ State Historical Museum of Iowa
A two-day experiential workshop for 7-12 teachers to learn how to help students develop their own inquiries and gather sources. Youโll do hands-on practice learning how to access and analyze digital historical primary sources like Census records, newspapers, photographs, historical maps, and more!
- Free classroom materials for doing historical inquiry
- Activities to set the stage for inquiry
- Staff-led inquiries in the Research Center with historic documents
- Behind-the-scenes access to the historical collections
- Earn 1 license renewal credit.
- Limited to 25 educators.
- Register Here
Subscribe to the Monthly Education Newsletter
The educator newsletter is back with a new look, a new monthly schedule, and a new nameโThe Goldfinch Dispatch. Weโre honoring the legacy of our retired young learners magazine, The Goldfinch (1975-2000) with a refreshed resource designed specifically with teachers in mind. Each issue delivers:
- bellringer activities
- Iowa history mysteries
- ready-to-use lessons
- professional development opportunities
- museum updates
Subscribe to receive monthly updates straight to your inbox on the first Wednesday of each month.
Past Professional Development Recordings
Iowa history plays an important role in the stateโs Social Studies standards. The following videos can be used by educators to prepare for curriculum or in the classroom with students. Educational Videos Related to Iowa History.