DAVENPORT, Iowa — Visitors to the Putnam Museum and Science Center have a new addition to explore.
The museum launched its new Quad City Innovators exhibit, which highlights influential Quad Citizens who've made their mark in our local community and across the country.
Some of the featured innovators include John Deere; Otto Rohwedder, the inventor of the world's first bread-slicing machine; Happy Joe's Pizza founder John Whitty; and Gene Baker, the first Black player with the Chicago Cubs.
“The Putnam’s Innovators exhibit offers visitors an opportunity to see how many creative people we have in the Quad Cities and the world,” Christina Kastell, curator of history and anthropology, said in a press release. “Every child will be able to see someone who looks like them and find inspiration to become innovators themselves.”
The exhibit is currently open to the public. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Friday, April 26. Admission to Quad City Innovators is included with Putnam's general admission. Tickets cost $12 for adults, $10 for kids between three and 18 years old and $8 for seniors and military veterans.
Some of the other items on display include:
- J.F. McCullough, Cecil Medd and Henry C. Duke, Dairy Queen and soft serve ice cream
- Palmer Family, chiropractic
- Voss Brothers, washing machine
- Joe Whitty, taco pizza
- Fred Lundahl, Buddy L toys
- Fred Boetje, Boetje’s Mustard
- Nelly Cheboi, CNN Hero of the Year 2022 and founder of TechLit Africa
- Dr. William West Grant, first successful appendectomy
- Mary Solbrig, early airplane mechanic
- Chad Pregracke, environmentalist and 2002 Jefferson Award recipient
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