The University of Iowa Pentacrest Museums

04/26/2025

Next week, Cindy Opitz, Director of Research Collections at the Pentacrest Museums, will join a panel for the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council’s discussion, Reclaiming Heritage: Leadership in Restitution and Repatriation in Iowa. This event is part of a Mellon grant-supported series, which fosters interdisciplinary dialogue around critical cultural issues. We’re proud to highlight Cindy’s leadership in this essential conversation on ethical stewardship and community collaboration.

The discussion, which takes place in the Shambaugh Auditorium on May 1, 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., will explore the University of Iowa’s leadership and evolving practices in the restitution and repatriation of cultural objects. Cindy will join representatives from the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art, the Office of the State Archaeologist, and the Meskwaki Cultural Center and Museum for this panel, offering her expertise on the role of museums as stewards of cultural heritage.

Mark your calendars and learn more here: https://stanleymuseum.uiowa.edu/event/32034/0.

04/24/2025

And the 2025 Trivia Night @ the Museum is a wrap. Thank you to all who played, congrats to all the winners (big and small), and "Bravo!" to the Pentacrest Museums' Student Advisory Board for another great success. Another big thanks to our prize sponsors and

Let's do it again, next year!

04/23/2025

Happy ! 📖 Last month, A. Kendra Greene returned to Iowa City to read from her new book, No Less Strange or Wonderful: Essays in Curiosity, which is full of museum magic ✨

Look for the book in our gift shop soon, or pick up a copy from Prairie Lights Bookstore today!

04/22/2025

Spring 🌷
Summer ☀️
Fall 🍁
Winter ❄️

Happy , Hawkeyes! What's your favorite season in Iowa City?

04/21/2025

TRIVIA NIGHT @ THE MUSEUM is this week! Students, ready to put your brains to the test? This year the Pentacrest Museums Student Advisory Board is bringing the heat with some seriously tricky questions and awesome prizes in the historic Senate Chamber of the Old Capitol Museum 🎉🏛️

✔️ When? Wednesday, April 23, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
✔️ Where? Old Cap Senate Chamber
✔️ What? Mind-bending questions in fun categories for the chance to win prizes—for everyone, not just the top 3 teams!
✔️ How? Use this link to register yourself or your team of 6 (we'll pair you with others to make teams of 6): https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/tzu58te

See you there!

04/20/2025

Happy ! We have many volunteers at the Pentacrest Museums who do great work behind the scenes, including members of our Student Advisory Board. Today we’re recognizing our graduating seniors from SAB and thanking them for their constant hard work and positive energy ⚡️🩷💪

🪩 Juliza Bonilla
Integrative biology major, environmental science minor
With SAB for one year
Favorite project: Silent Disco

👻 Kyla Bethel
History major, French minor, Museum Studies certificate
With SAB for one year
Favorite project: Spooky Night @ the Museum

⁉️ Mary Alice Waite
Anthropology major, Religious Studies minor
With SAB for one year
Favorite project: Trivia Night @ the Museum

🔢 Leila Sennour
Accounting and psychology major, Latin minor
With SAB for two years
Favorite project: Trivia Night @ the Museum

04/19/2025

Have you checked out the Community Art Gallery Wall in Iowa Hall lately? This gallery is made up of YOUR art from our Art & Write Night events, with paintings, drawings, short stories, poetry, and more. Art & Write Night is a unique opportunity to work on sketching or writing projects with other campus and community artists. We can’t wait to see you back in the galleries after-hours in May!

04/15/2025

🚨Reminder that Trivia Night @ the Museum is quickly approaching! Tickets always sell out, and we're sure to have a full house in the Old Cap Senate Chamber. Tell your friends and register now to tackle this year's mind-bending categories. Whether you're a seasoned trivia champ or a newbie, we want you there! Trust us...it's always a blast.

Prizes include museum prezzies between each round and grand prize winnings in the form of Iowa City Downtown District gift cards, with 1st place taking home $100! You might be a lucky winner on Wednesday, April 23, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.‼️ See you there!

Link to register: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/tzu58te

04/14/2025

Members of the Old Capitol Museum were invited to bring a selection of our current exhibition from the INTO LIGHT Project, Drug Addiction: Real People, Real Stories, to the (new) capitol in Des Moines today. The museum, along with the UI Addiction and Recovery Collaborative and family members of loved ones who lost their lives to Substance Use Disorder in Iowa, were present to discuss and illuminate this exhibition and the work being done at the University of Iowa to support the state.

Thank you to all who stopped to engage with this powerful project. It was an honor to welcome unexpecting guests, friends and family, training officers, school tours, and senators and representatives. The power of art and storytelling helps this work go further. The exhibition will be up through December 2025 at the Old Capitol Museum (open with free admission, Wednesday - Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.). At the closing ceremony, portraits will be gifted to family members. There are hopes to create a reproduction of a permanent exhibition that can travel to all 99 counties in Iowa. To learn more, please visit the gallery or this link: https://pentacrestmuseums.uiowa.edu/light-project.

04/13/2025

at the Museum of Natural History 📝🔡💭 Which is your favorite?

04/12/2025

Last Monday, twenty-five students from a Natural History Research Collections class took a trip behind the scenes at the Museum of Natural History, learning from our Director of Research Collections, Cindy Opitz, and our Research Collections Assistant, Elizabeth Fouts.

Our collections are an ideal place for students to experience hands-on, high-impact learning opportunities. Instructors, to book your next class visit today.

04/11/2025

For , we asked our staff to send pics of their pets with Baby Rusty. They did not disappoint 🥹🐱🐶🐍🩷

04/10/2025

Have you signed up yourself or your team for Trivia Night @ the Museum? Teams are made up of 6 players, but registration for one person or a partial team is A-ok—we'll simply pair you with others to make teams of 6. And who knows, you might end up with your new besties...

❓Wednesday, April 23, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
❓Old Capitol Museum Senate Chamber
❓BIG prizes, including a $100 Iowa City Downtown District gift card
❓Link to register: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/tzu58te

04/09/2025

04/09/2025

We get to celebrate all semester with Rachel Stewart's My Collections exhibit. All That Glitters: Enid Collins Box Purses started with Rachel browsing vintage purses online and coming across the "wearable art" designs of Enid Collins from the 60s and 70s.

These ✨unique antiques✨ with even more unique names like Mille Fleur, Flower Cart, Wise Guys, and Money Tree can be found on the first floor of Macbride Hall, just south of Iowa Hall, through May 2025.

04/08/2025

It's time to read, dance, sing, and play, the April showers way ☔️🌧️🌂 Join us tomorrow for READ ON THE RUG, where we always strive to build community for families and inspire a sense of wonder, curiosity, and respect for our natural and cultural worlds.

See you in Iowa Hall, 10:30 - 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 9!

04/07/2025

One week from today, on Monday, April 14, twelve of the images and narratives in our INTO LIGHT Project exhibit will be on display at the Iowa State Capitol for legislators to view and interact with. This display is an example of how museums play a role in the commitments that the university keeps with our great state of Iowa.

The traveling pieces will return to the Hanson Humanities Gallery at the Old Capitol Museum prior to our reopening on Wednesday, April 16, where they will remain through December 2025.

04/05/2025

Old Cap . 🏛️