Donate to the Museum Collections

We are grateful to all who donate items (tangible property) to Living History Farms. All gifts of tangible property must be reviewed before Living History Farms can accept them. Please do not drop any potential item donations at the museum without going through the review process.

Seeking the following items:

• Dover Egg Beater
• Norwegian Tine Bentwood Box
• 1939 Farmall Model M Tractor
• 1954 Farmall Super M Tractor

Please review our prospective donation process below.

We also consider the following types of donations:

• ITEMS FOR OUR COLLECTIONS—This includes artifacts from the time periods we interpret (1700, 1850, 1876, and 1900), along with textiles and quilts into the 1900s. Please review our prospective donation process below.
• COMPUTERS & OTHER TECHNOLOGY EQUIPMENT—Please email pr@lhf.org to see if your item(s) would be needed.
• OFFICE SUPPLIES—Please call email finance@lhf.org to see if your item(s) would be needed.

Donating historical artifacts

Living History Farms is grateful to all who donate historical artifacts to our museum collections. We continuously look for items to add to our programs, and welcome artifacts that can help us to interpret the history of farming and rural life in the time periods we currently present at our historical sites.

What we collect

Living History Farms’ historic collection currently includes more than 19,000 items, ranging from tractors to quilts—and most things in between.

If you have an item or items that you feel would be beneficial to the museum and our collection, we invite you to submit this form:

Prospective Donations to LHF Museum Collections

Collecting areas include: artifacts from the time periods we interpret (1700, 1850, 1876, and 1900) as well as textiles and quilts into the 1900s. Our collections focus on agricultural and domestic life in Iowa, as well as transportation and professional trades.

Please do not bring items to Living History Farms.  Our Collections Policy does not allow us to receive objects that are left or abandoned. Unsolicited items will not be accepted.

Federal Law prohibits museums from providing appraisals.

To see a small selection of our current holdings, please visit our online collections database.

Please contact the Collections Department at collections@lhf.org or call (515) 278-5286 to learn more.

Monetary donations to museum collections

Living History Farms museum collections department is grateful for financial support that will help to acquire needed objects and to keep providing preservation care of the collections. Those who have interest in supporting these activities may contact our Vice President of Development by email at donate@lhf.org or by phone at 515-278-5286 Ext. 120.