Preserving the Past to Transcend Time
From Pentacrest Museums Director Liz Crooks
For the Pentacrest Museums, 2023 was a monumental year. We took great strides in our fundraising campaign to conserve the cyclorama, hosted an international conference, made a historic collections acquisition, broadened our curricular connections on campus, and strengthened our contributions to the university's strategic goals. Once again, I invite you to join us in a look back at a year we're proud of in two museums we hope you call yours.
BY THE NUMBERS
Our Visitor Services Department works with our campus and the public to schedule class visits and tours, manage our student docents, and keep our galleries accessible to guests.
- Total visitors: 40,272 (↑ 3,189)
- Note: due to multiple entrances in Macbride Hall, data recorded for the Museum of Natural History indicates only guests entering the east entrance to Iowa Hall (we estimate this to be less than half of our total guests).
- Number of guided gallery tours: 68
- These are tours given by student docents employed by the Pentacrest Museums. It is our honor to connect with guests this way and to give our students the opportunity to teach.
- Total number of guests on a guided gallery tour: 1,516
- Number of college class visits to galleries: 37
- Number of states (not including IA) from which we had visitors: 42
- Number of countries (not including USA) from which we had visitors from: 25
Our Education Department works to create interactive programming to support connectivity, engagement, and learning in museum spaces.
- Total number of programs: 54
We hosted a wide variety of programs in 2023, with something for everyone. Here are some highlights:
- Tree Tours (Pentacrest & West Campus)
- Trivia Night
- Architectural Tours
- Exhibition Spotlight
- Art & Write Night
- Read on the Rug
- Special Team Building Activities
Our Events staff create revenue for our free-admission museums by offering excellence as a venue for special events in our historic spaces.
- Total events: 70
- Weddings: 6
- Receptions: 20
- Concerts: 10
- Daily prospective student visits with UI Admissions: 84
Our Communications staff manages messaging, branding, social media, websites, signage, and more. They promote our services and keep folks in the know, prioritizing access.
A combination of more strategic content and new types of media led to an increase by all measures on our social channels, with most success on Instagram with 18-24 year olds.
- Social media posts across all channels: 1,645 (↑ 379)
- Social media post reach across all channels: 664,000 (↑ 74K)
- New fans and followers across all channels: 1,300 (↑ 360)
Our year on social media was marked by creativity, playfulness, more collaboration, and indulging trends with value-building content.
Our Collections team cares for our specimens and objects, keeps them accessible to classes and researchers both on and off campus, and holds the incredible responsibility of preserving our history.
- Number of newly acquisitioned items: 767, with 60,328+ not-yet accessioned specimens/objects
- Number of class visits to collections spaces or our museum lab: 26
- Number of students on class visits to collections spaces or our lab: 377
- Number of collections items loaned: 705 in 30 total loans
- Number of students impacted by collections loans: 237
- Collections access
- 8 research visits
- 15 research queries
- 7 class research projects
- 22 collections tours with 277 people
- Online collections access:
- Our collections data appeared in 3,123,499,410 searches
- Our collections records were downloaded 1,185,936 times
- Our collections records were cited in published research 363 times
Our museums are proud to host student employment positions for many UI students each year and additional opportunities for interns and volunteers.
- In 2023, 28 interns, volunteers, and paid temporary staff contributed 2983.4 hours of work on projects including:
- Insect and mammal inventory, reorganization, collection acquisition, and curation
- Bird and mussel reorganization
- Fish and archaeology acquisition and curation
- Old Capitol historical research
- Object photography
- Object condition reports and support building
- Archival digitization
- Specimen preparation and taxidermy.
- We held staff positions for more than 30 students and 2 UI REACH students
- We held Student Advisory Board positions for 15 students
STRATEGIC PLAN IN ACTION
Holistic Well-Being with Museum Programming
Our museums strengthen the collective commitment to holistic well-being and success, making us a vital contributor to the university's mission and goals. We know museums play an integral role in fostering a supportive environment for our students, faculty, staff, and community. By evaluating and enhancing existing offerings, we ensure a comprehensive framework which prioritizes recognition, recruitment, and retention.
Image Gallery
In partnership with our campus arborist Andy Dahl, we successfully extended our Tree Tours program to west campus to meet the needs of our staff and community.
When we learned one of the biggest deterrents to student retention in the first weeks of school is none other than homesickness, we responded with a new program: Postcards on the Pentacrest.
We partnered with senior vice president and campus architect Rod Lehnertz to give a new Pentacrest Architecture Tour in support of University Human Resources Discover Your University program series.
We created a weekly study hall program focusing on positive affirmations and good habits to meet the needs of our student body with informal learning in a safe and beautiful spaces.
Our Student Advisory Board organized another Trivia Night at the Old Capitol Museum, bringing student and staff/faculty teams together for some some friendly competition.
Excellence in Teaching and Learning
Our museums are filled with opportunities to elevate the high-quality teaching that happens on our campus. We foster dynamic, hands-on exploration and educational experiences that empower our educators to achieve their teaching goals and help our students achieve their aspirations.
Image Gallery
Each year our research collections team fulfills object loan requests reaching thousands of people. Some of those loans are for classes right here at Iowa, where we bring textbooks to life with collections in the classroom.
Our galleries are classrooms. Each year instructors use our museums to get out of textbooks and into exhibitions to illustrate their curriculum. In 2023, more than 100 UI classes used our spaces to teach.
Students don't only visit our galleries for hands-on learning experiences, our team hosts class visits to our lab for specialized instruction, too.
Our director of research collections, Cindy Opitz, traveled for continued specialized training in taxidermy, supporting the museum's efforts to continue providing education within the legacy of specimen preparation for research and creative display.
A Welcoming Environment
Museums play a pivotal role in advancing the university's strategic goal of fostering a welcoming environment. Through collaborative efforts with campus-wide initiatives, we celebrate each other, creating a culture where individuals feel valued and respected. By championing these principles, we contribute to the cultivation of belonging, enriching the university experience for all.
Image Gallery
We debuted a new educational engagement cart, Buggin' Out, with great success. The experience was designed by one of our UI REACH students, Emily, with accessibility in mind.
We were the recipient of a Diversity Catalyst Grant Award: Museums for Everyone. In collaboration with UI's REACH Program, our museums have demonstrated exceptional dedication to accessibility and diversity.
We were proud to host the Iowa First Nations Summer Camp again this year, followed by UI Summer Camp for Deaf Youth, to connect with students not only about things our museums specialize in, but about pathways to careers in museums where their perspectives are needed.
Innovative Research and Creative Discovery
Our museums are instrumental in advancing the university's strategic goal of fostering innovative research and creative discovery. Leveraging our unique position as a hub of artistic, cultural, and scientific exploration, we actively contribute to interdisciplinary collaboration and creativity. We are proud to facilitate meaningful dialogue and knowledge exchange among scholars, researchers, and artists from diverse fields.
Image Gallery
We visited UI School of the Wild to learn and assist with the bird banding process. This research compliments the work of our collections and the partnership sparked many interdisciplinary projects.
Our research collections team teaches students skills in object and specimen preservation in our lab. This incredible hands-on experience in a museum prior to graduation gives Hawkeyes a leg-up in the professions they will pursue.
Our Art & Write Night program carried on with another year of great success. We were lucky to partner with the UI Raptor Center for one event, expanding the experience for guests.
With the Laysan Island Cyclorama as the centerpiece, we proudly hosted international researchers and scholars for the International Panorama Council's 32nd Annual Conference.
We continued our interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers and other departments for the annual BioBlitz at Ashton Prairie this year.
Museums Make Transformative Societal Impact
Our museums play a pivotal role in expanding community engagement opportunities and increasing access to higher education in Iowa. By leveraging our areas of distinction and the collective talent of our staff, we have extended our impact beyond campus, enriching the lives and education of Iowans, contributing to the university's mission of public service.
Image Gallery
We accessioned more than 50,000 specimens from Wesleyan University, saving them from destruction, making our entomological collections the most viable for research in the state.
As an invigorated and distinguished venue that serves as a center of culture and civic discourse for the State of Iowa, the Old Capitol Museum hosted many events, including President Wilson's presentation to Iowa legislative representatives.
We proudly served on the Iowa City Downtown District's Cultural & Entertainment Board, helping to connect our Iowa City campus and community venues for more cohesion and support in how we make an impact.
We brought back Read on the Rug, a program designed for our youngest museum goers, building curiosity, access, and community for them and their caregivers.
In partnership with the Office of Sustainability, we organized and hosted an Earth Day event. Various departments showcased their eco-focused work and offered activities for hundreds of Iowans.
MORE TO CELEBRATE
Donor support helped UIPM approach the 1/2 way mark of our fundraising goal for the Laysan Island Cyclorama. These donations allowed us to begin further assessments, pursue grants, and begin work.
Conservation
Museum Conservation Assessment
Best web story
Museums Preserve Priceless Collection in Peril
WITH GRATITUDE
We extend heartfelt gratitude to all of our campus and community partners, supporters, and volunteers. Whether you helped with the development of a program or exhibition, hosted a special event here, donated to our efforts with time or money, or backed our team, we thank you.
Thanks list
- Our entire team of dedicated student staff employees, who serve as ambassadors to our museums. We are proud and thankful for these students, who are gaining many desired job skills while serving our mission.
- UI Office of the President
- UI Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost
- UI Office of the Vice President for Research
- UI Office of Strategic Communications
- UI Center for Advancement
- Iowa Magazine
- UI Admissions
- UI International Programs
- UI Division of Performing Arts
- UI Division of Student Life
- UI School of Art and Art History
- UI School of Journalism and Mass Communications
- UI Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
- UI Anthropology Department
- UI Paleontology Repository
- UI Human Resources- liveWELL
- UI Facilities Management
- UI Office of Sustainability
- UI School of the Wild
- Iowa Raptor Project
- UI DEAI-Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence
- UI REACH
- UI Cultural Centers
- UI Latinx Council
- UI Native American Council
- UI Libraries
- UI Stanley Museum of Art
- UI Lecture Committee
- UI Public Policy Center
- Office of the State Archaeologist
- Iowa Public Radio
- Iowa City Downtown District
- State Historical Society of Iowa
- Johnson County Conservation
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources
- International Panorama Council
IN MEMORIAM
Anne Smothers (1946 – 2023)
The Pentacrest Museums remember Ann Elizabeth Slattery Smothers, who dedicated decades of her life to the Old Capitol Museum in various roles, including director.
Holmes Alford Semken, Jr. (1935 – 2024)
The Pentacrest Museums remember Dr. Semken with gratitude for his herculean efforts in bringing Iowa Hall to life and his dedication to research on the Tarkio Valley Sloths.
