Community Outreach

Do you want to learn more about Iowa’s history? Let Living History Farms come to your community organization with a program that includes images and hands-on artifacts. Request a program by filling out the form below.

Details

45 minutes, plus 15 minutes for questions and artifact exploration
For adult groups
Must be booked 30 days in advance
Program fee: $180 for up to 50 people
Available within 60 miles of Living History Farm (see map below)
Programs not available in May or October

Programs

Iowa Christmas Past: A Look at Christmas Traditions in Iowa

Explore the history of Christmas traditions in Iowa from the 1840s through the early 1900s. Examine diary and newspaper entries, photographs of re-created holiday celebrations at Living History Farms, and historic photographs to learn about the parties, food, gifts, and Christmas trees of the time.

Independence Day Celebrations: A Look at America’s Holiday in Iowa’s Past

Discover how July Fourth became a fixture in Iowa tradition and what components made up the celebration, including speeches, parades, music, decorations, and fireworks. Photographs of re-created celebrations at Living History Farms, alongside historic newspaper accounts, will make history come to life!

A History of Farming in Iowa

Learn how agriculture has evolved over the past several centuries in Iowa, from Native American farmers to 1850s settlers to the golden age of horse-powered farming. Photographs from the museum’s historic working farms will highlight the changes in what was grown on an Iowa farm, what tools and power were necessary, and the impact on farming families.

Food for the Table: A Look at Historic Iowa Farm Food and the Women Who Cooked It

We’ll share stories of what food Iowa families put on their tables—and how. Using excerpts from historic diaries, recipe books, and newspapers, you’ll learn about the availability of ingredients, techniques for cooking and preservation, favorite recipes of the time periods, and the challenges of food preparation spanning from Iowa’s pioneer settlements to the golden age of farming. This presentation is guaranteed to make you hungry!

Tea Parties: Past and Present

Cups and saucers, pots and plates, all bring to mind a relaxing and refined tea party! Learn where tea comes from, how it became a popular beverage, and how the manners of serving tea developed. Discover how Victorian England and the United States felt about tea party menus and manners, and how tea became a fixture in Iowa’s culture.

Dining Manners and Menus in Victorian Iowa

Can you set an elegant dinner table? Setting a proper table and eating politely were defining manners for a Victorian homemaker. Photographs will lead you through the courses of a meal while you learn how our modern thoughts on dinner evolved from the 1870s. As a hands-on activity, you will practice laying a place setting, and serving and sitting correctly at an elegant meal.