History Road Show Makes Stop at Cowles Montessori
Students from Cowles Montessori School check out the mobile version of the Iowa State Historical Museum.
Sometimes the students go on the field trips and sometimes the field trips come to the students. For three days this week at Cowles Montessori School it’s the latter.
A big, blue RV pulled up next to the school on Monday morning and parked for a stay during which all students in grades 1-8 will get a whirlwind tour of state history. It’s Iowa History 101/History on the Move, brought to you by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, a rolling branch of the Iowa State Historical Museum, on its way to all 99 counties.
Last December Jessica Rundlett, Special Projects & Outreach Coordinator with the state museum, asked schools across the state who would be interested in hosting a stop on the tour that began last month and Cowles principal Greg Grylls raised his hand.
Rundlett was the history hostess on Tuesday, entertaining a steady stream of Cowles classrooms. Tuesday morning Molly Keninger’s class of 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders came aboard and Rundlett started them off by reading aloud the story of Moingona, Iowa’s hometown heroine, Kate Shelley. As a teenager, Shelley risked her life to warn the Midnight Express, a train headed for a washed out bridge over Honey Creek during a storm in 1881.
“Is she still alive?” one wowed 1st grader wanted to know, duly impressed.
When the story was over Keninger popped a quiz to measure the level of attention paid. “Where did Kate Shelley go to college?” she asked. “Simpson!” was the quick and chorused response.
Rundlett polled the group to see who thought they could be as brave as Shelley in similar circumstances. More of them were inspired than scared, if their responses were to be believed.
Then the group got up and made the rounds of the mobile time capsule. As a motor vehicle, Iowa History 101 is jumbo. Inside, it’s on the cramped side as museums go, but there’s room for plenty of Iowa history, ranging all the way from the achievement of statehood in 1846 through astronaut Peggy Whitson, who just recently set a record for time spent in space.
“Eventually we will visit every corner of the state,” said Rundlett. “We are going to county fairs and the state fair and all sorts of public events in addition to visits to schools statewide.”
Iowa History 101 comes equipped with teaching tools to use both pre- and post-visit, including quizzes, vocabulary and famous Iowan bios.
John and Mary Beth Tinker of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District fame are featured in one exhibit. Another depicts the one-room schoolhouses that used to be commonplace in Iowa circa 19th and early 20th centuries. There’s a genuine fold-up, portable chalkboard like the ones schoolchildren used to write their lessons in the old days. Such tools were the original laptops.
One corner of the space was devoted to Iowa’s sporting history. Included there was a team photo of the Buxton Wonders, an all-black baseball team that barnstormed the state during the early 20th century. That reminded one visitor that Tuesday, May 2nd, marked the 87th anniversary of a notable event in the annals of Iowa. It was on that date in 1930 that the first nighttime professional ballgame ever played under permanent lighting happened at Holcomb Park, where North High’s Grubb Stadium now stands. The Des Moines Demons beat the Wichita Aviators that night by a score of 13-6, for the record.
In the film series Night at the Museum, the exhibits come to life after closing time. Iowa History 101/History on the Move is kind of like that – except the magic happens during the daytime, just like it does in school.
