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TIME
Central Standard Time


NEIGHBORING STATES
Nebraska
South Dakota
Minnesota
Wisconsin
Illinois
Missouri


REGION
Mid West States




Iowa: Des Moines Museums

Greater Des Moines has it all when it comes to museums.

Fort Des Moines Memorial Park and Education Center is a five-acre living military history park featuring a museum, historic Chapel, and memorial.

Another military museum is located at scenic and historic Camp Dodge – the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum displays artifacts from the Civil War through the present day.

The State Capitol of Iowa is a beloved landmark and the hub of state government. The Renaissance Revival-style capitol features a 23- karat gold dome, flanked by four smaller domes.

The National Balloon Museum chronicles more than 200 years of ballooning history.

Iowa's history lives on in the State Historical Museum. Unique permanent and temporary exhibits explore the people, places, events, and issues of Iowa's past.

Iowa Hall of Pride honors the achievements of Iowa’s high school students and represents the history and people of every community in the state.





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From fascinating museums and historic sites to theme parks and art galleries, Iowa offers attractions galore. Motels, hotels and inns across Iowa provide relaxing getaways and access to hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails.

There is plenty of golf in Iowa, and rivers and lakes provide opportunities for boating and fishing. The Mississippi forms the eastern border of Iowa and offers riverboat excursions, floating casinos, scenic drives, ancient burial mounds, and beautiful vistas.

The Amana Colonies are seven German villages, all designated as National Historic Landmarks, which feature working artisans, museums, restaurants, brewery, wineries, furniture, antique & specialty shops, and Iowa's only operating woollen-mill.

The Iowa Great Lakes resort region, fun in both summer and winter, offers amusement parks, water parks, summer theater, live concerts, golfing, biking & hiking trails. Madison County is famous as the birthplace of John Wayne and for historic covered bridges; it has been popularised by Robert James Waller's novel, The Bridges of Madison County and the movie.

Whether your family is looking for a vacation with thrilling roller coasters, fascinating zoo animals or interactive museums, Iowa's capital Des Moines is the perfect destination for family fun : At the new Science Center of Iowa, visitors can search for fossils or even arm-wrestle someone in a different time zone; for the thrill seekers, Adventureland Amusement Park is Iowa’s largest family resort.

At Fort Des Moines visitors can see the historic fort in its heyday from 1901 through World War II. Greater Des Moines offers a variety of hotels, motels and inns in a choice of locations and price ranges.

IOWA HOTELS


ATTRACTIONS


Amana Colonies Seven German villages, all designated as National Historic Landmarks, which feature working artisans, museums, restaurants, brewery, wineries, furniture, antique & specialty shops, and Iowa's only operating woollen-mill.


Ames This college town has its own charm and its own attractions, but it is also close to several nearby attractions. AMES HOTELS

The Country Relics Village at Stanhope is a scaled down version of an early 1900s village, Story City, 10 mile north of Ames, brings Scandinavia to life and has an antique carousel, at Boone, just 15 miles west of Ames, the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad takes visitors across the 156-foot trestle overlooking Des Moines River Valley.
Cedar Rapids Iowa's second-largest city, offers a wealth of attractions from Duffys Collectible Cars to the National Czech & Slovan Museum and Library and Ushers Ferry Historic Village, a small Iowa town at the turn of the century. There are guided tours of Brucemore, a Queen Anne-style mansion in a 26-acre park-like estate. CEDAR RAPIDS HOTELS

Other attractions are Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cornell College,a scenic National Register of Historic Places campus which includes the Anderson Geology MuseumWeb, The History Center, and three floors of hands-on exhibits at Science Station.


Council Bluffs Many national trails converged in the Council Bluffs area, including the Lewis and Clark, California, Mormon Pioneer and Oregon. The Western Historic Trails Center commemorates these heroic journeys, as does the RailsWest Railroad Museum & HO Model Railroad. The Lewis and Clark Monument and Scenic Overlook honors the first council held by Lewis & Clark and Native Americans. Council Bluffs was named for this historic meeting.

Visitors are also drawn to the Historic General Dodge House, a lavish, historically authentic Victorian home; and the Squirrel Cage Jail, a 1885 unique "human rotary" jail. COUNCIL BLUFFS HOTELS


Des Moines The 23-karat golden dome of the State Capitol of Iowa towering above the city is a favorite of sightseers. At the Living History Farms which tells the story of Midwestern agriculture and rural life, interpreters dressed in period costume recreate the daily routines of early Iowans. Historic Valley Junction is a renovated railroad district with a collection of more than 120 retail businesses; at Fort Des Moines visitors can see the historic fort in its heyday from 1901 through World War II; and for fun there is the Science Center of Iowa and Adventureland, a resort which includes an amusement park. DES MOINES HOTELS


Dubuque Nestled in the limestone bluffs along the Mississippi River, Dubuque attractions include the Field of Dreams Movie Site, the quiet, quaint 94-year-old family farm with a baseball diamond carved into its heart, Central Lake Cave, which has 3,000 feet of well-lit passageways, and the Mississippi River Museum where visitors explore 300 years of river history with life-size exhibits and hands-on displays. DUBUQUE HOTELS

Nearby at Dyersville is the National Farm Toy Museum, which offers an array of farm toys, trucks, banks, and other toys of interest to both the serious collector and casual visitor.


Effigy Mounds National Monument Near Harpers Ferry, this monument commemorates 200 prehistoric American Indian burial and ceremonial mounds along the Mississippi River Bluffs.


Iowa City/Coralville Attractions include the Mormon Handcart Site, an historic marker and short walking trail commemorate the Mormon Trek from Coralville. Other attractions include the Museum of Natural History and the Old Capitol Museum. IOWA CITY HOTELS and CORALVILLE HOTELS


Keokuk A walking tour of Keokuk’s historic district is worthwhile. The Verity at the George M. Verity Riverboat Museum was one of the first steamboats to move barges on the Mississippi between St. Louis and St. Paul. Embedded in shale outcroppings or visibly exposed in creek beds, Keokuk geodes delight rockhounds. KEOKUK HOTELS


Madison County Famous as the birthplace of John Wayne and for historic covered bridges. Madison County has been popularised by Robert James Waller's novel, The Bridges of Madison County and the movie.


Marshalltown Visitors can explore the pre-Civil War Glick-Sower Heritage Homestead and the Marshall County Historical Museum. MARSHALLHTOWN HOTELS


Mason City Hailed as the "original river city" since it is the boyhood home of Meredith Willson, author of Music Man. Mason City offers a number of attractions including Bil Baird's puppets at the Charles MacNider Museum, an abundance of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture plus, several unique festivals. MASON CITY HOTELS


Mississippi River Mark Twain's river forms the eastern border of Iowa and offers riverboat excursions, floating casinos, scenic drives, ancient burial mounds, and beautiful vistas.


Pella Everything about Pella is Dutch - from its canal, Dutch architecture and 1850's windmill to the oldest of treasures, its museums and sites dedicated to the people of Pella. PELLA HOTELS


Quad Cities Davenport and Bettendorf are the two Quad Cities in Iowa (the other two, in Illinois, are Moline and Rock Island). This is one of the first destinations in the United States to offer Riverboat Casinos. Visitors can experience the historic Village of East Davenport, Walnut Grove Pioneer Village in Long Grove, the Putnam Museum, the Davenport Museum of Art and the Family Museum. DAVENPORT HOTELS and BETTENDORF HOTELS


Sioux City One of the prime attractions of this Missouri River city on the shoreline of the prairie, where legendary explorers Lewis and Clark left their mark, is the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail. Also worth visiting is the Mid-America Air Museum. SIOUX CITY HOTELS


Waterloo Home to the Bluedorn Science Imaginarium, a fun way to experiment with physics, light, sound and momentum and along the banks of the scenic Cedar River is the Waterloo Museum of Art. Silos & Smokestacks is a collection of over 60 privately-owned historic sites throughout Northeast Iowa which tells the story of Iowa’s contribution to the Agricultural Revolution. WATERLOO HOTELS


West Branch The birthplace of Herbert Clark Hoover and the must-see attraction is the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum which commemorates the life of a great humanitarian.



Photo courtesy Iowa Tourism Office

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