TRACES’ ‘bus-eum’ focuses on Iowa’s past

A traveling exhibit that examines Iowa history will make a handful of stops in the area this week.

'At Home in the Heartland: How Iowans Got to be 'Us'' is housed in a retrofitted school bus called a 'bus-eum.' The mobile exhibit will visit all of Iowa's 99 counties over the next 18 months.

TRACES Center for History and Culture, a non-profit organization, is producing the exhibit in conjunction with the Iowa Genealogical Society. While TRACES first focused on World War II, its exhibits now aim to answer: 'What have been our strengths and weaknesses over time as communities?' and 'What resources do we present at present?'

The current exhibit focuses on Iowa history from 1830 to 1930, said Michael Luick-Thrams, project director.

'The reason we look at that era is we're looking at how do Iowans as we know ourselves become the way we are, and who are we today based on that path, and we ask the question: 'Who would we still become?' Luick-Thrams said.

During visits, Luick-Thrams tells the story of his family, who has lived in Iowa since the 1830s, and how that history relates to the story of Iowa. Luick-Thrams splits his time between Mason City and Dresden, Germany.

The bus contains four cases of historical artifacts, according to Irving Kellman, the exhibit's docent, who guides visitors through the bus.

'Each panel is a different aspect of the settlers' life, who they were, why they came, how they came, what they did when they got here, how they changed Iowa and how Iowa changed them,' Kellman said.

The back half of the bus is a 20-seat auditorium where visitors can watch a video about the Algona prisoner of war camp, Kellman said.

Sara Jacobmeyer, director of programs at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, where the bus-eum will stop Tuesday, said immigrants helped shape Midwest customs and way of life.

'We want to give our community an opportunity to think about how families might have contributed to the identity of Iowa and vice versa,' she said in an email.