Rebuilding Staff Capacity for Humanities Programs at Living History Farms

FAIN: ZPP-283667-22

Living History Farms (Urbandale, IA 50322-3724)
Daniel E. Jones (Project Director: May 2021 to present)

Improvements to the Ioway Farm site, programs on Ioway culture, a pilot class, activities exploring the immigrant experiences, and Juneteenth event planning.

The proposed project rebuilds staff capacity at two critical museum sites, so Living History Farms can resume providing hands-on experiences for Iowa schoolchildren and visitors from around the world to engage in exploration of Iowa's rural history and the contributions of agriculture to our nation's development. These sites tie directly to NEH's A More Perfect Union priority, one addressing the experience of Native Americans and the other, America's place in the world as a refuge for immigrants. The project also supports the acquisition of materials, the hiring of a consultant and development of interpretive manuals to help tell those stories. Many of these activities are focused on the 40th anniversary of LHF’s Ioway Farm site. The project also includes reinstatement of Program Registrar and Collections Curator positions, along with materials and consultant assistance to support the work of these positions.