DAVENPORT, Iowa — Thanks to their efforts in helping to discover and explore regional history, the Putnam Museum and Science Center is receiving a $425k grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
The museum will partner with area agencies like Friends of MLK Inc., LULAC, and World Relief to help bring the current Regional History Exhibit up to date and create Quad Cities-related history projects.
Putnam Museum President and CEO Rachel Mullins believes the new features will help enhance the history throughout the community.
"So we would anticipate aligning this with our education offerings and tours so that people can now use our regional history as a tool in their toolkit for conversations about what it means to be a Quad Citizen, who we are as a people in our diverse history and heritage here in the Quad Cities," Mullins said.
Some of the updates to the exhibit include oral histories, digital submissions, and artifacts donated by community members.
Putnam is the only museum in Iowa to receive the grant, and the Quad Cities community is invited to contribute to the planned regional history update. People are encouraged to share stories and ideas for the historic events or topics that should be included in the updated exhibit.
The Putnam curatorial team will hold meetings for public ideas at the following Quad Cities libraries over the next four weeks:
- (November 19) - Davenport Public Library: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
- (November 22) - Rock Island Public Library: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- (November 30) - Moline Public Library: 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
- (December 7) - Bettendorf Public Library: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.