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. You’ll gain practical ready-to-use strategies for teaching inquiry, historical thinking, and literacy through Iowa history.
The Driftless Area: Where History & Rivers Come Alive!
📆 Thursday, January 14
🕗 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
đź“Ť National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium
The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and the State Historical Society of Iowa are partnering to host a dynamic workshop for K-12 teachers in Dubuque, where history and rivers come alive! Participants will learn about Iowa’s social and environmental history in the Driftless Area through hands-on, experiential activities at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.
- Open to all K-12+ formal and informal educators.
- Improve object-based and place-based instruction with primary sources.
- Interdisciplinary museum tours and breakout sessions.
- Earn 1 license renewal credit.
- Limited to 40 educators.
- Registration opens November 4, 2026.
Iowa History Teacher Institute: Part II — Iowa from the Civil War to 1929
📆 Wednesday, June 9 & Thursday, June 10
🕗 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
đź“Ť State Historical Museum of Iowa
A two-day immersive workshop designed to give K-12 teachers and college professors behind-the-scenes access to artifacts as we explore Iowa history from 1870 to 1929. All participants will receive a free copy of Jeff Bremer’s 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 30 educators.
- Registration opens in Spring 2027.
Iowa History Teacher Institute: Part I — Iowa to the Civil War
📆 Monday, June 15 & Tuesday, June 16
🕗 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
đź“Ť State Historical Museum of Iowa
A two-day immersive workshop designed to give K-12 teachers and college professors 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 Bremer’s 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 30 educators.
- Registration opens in Spring 2027.
Goldie's History Kits: Teaching the New K-5 Standards
📆 Wednesday, June 23
🕗 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
đź“Ť State Historical Museum of Iowa
A two-day workshop designed to give K-5 teachers and college methods professors hands-on work with Goldie’s History Kits, a set of instructional materials aligned to the new Iowa Academic Standards for Social Studies. You’ll learn how to use the kits to teach historical thinking skills, inquiry, literacy and the grade level content standards.
- Hands-on work with the Goldie's History Kits aligned to your grade level.
- Mock field trip that makes connections to grade level content and skills.
- Staff-led inquiries in the Research Center with historic documents
- Earn 1 license renewal credit.
- Limited to 30 educators.
- Registration opens in Spring 2027.
Camp Algona: Iowa & World War II
📆 Wednesday, July 21
🕗 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM
đź“Ť Camp Algona POW Museum
Explore the history of Camp Algona, one of Iowa’s two major prisoner of war camps during World War II, and its lasting impact on local communities. This hands-on workshop immerses K-12+ educators in primary sources, place-based learning, and the stories of prisoners’ daily lives and cultural contributions.
- Open to all K-12+ formal and informal educators.
- Improve object-based and place-based instruction with primary sources.
- Interdisciplinary tours, excursions to local historical sites and breakout sessions.
- Earn 1 license renewal credit.
- Limited to 40 educators.
- Registration opens in Spring 2027.
Subscribe to the Monthly Education Newsletter
The educator newsletter is back with a new look, a new monthly schedule, and a new name—The Goldfinch Dispatch. We’re 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 state’s 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.