Amana Exhibit in Davenport
We are excited to bring you this new exhibit in partnership with the Amana Colonies. Explore the skilled trades that members of the Amana communal society brought from Germany to Iowa. Artifacts and personal stories from descendants bring to life the specialized trades Amana members brought from Germany that are still performed today including blacksmithing, baking, butchering, weaving and more. Several programs and demonstrations will be scheduled throughout the course of the exhibit featuring these trades. In the exhibit, learn how Amana society members made a difficult decision to leave the communal society during the Great Depression to come to the City of Davenport. Davenport had a dense population of Germans during that time, making the region the ideal place for members to relocate in hopes of new opportunities. The exhibit will be open March through July.
Support Your Favorite School!
SPONSOR A SCHOOL OR CLASSROOM
Are you a parent, grandparent, aunt/uncle of a student? Are you a business or corporation that supports community education? Would you like to offer the gift of a fun and interactive learning experience for young students? The museum offers many sponsor packages below to fit your needs. Please contact Angela Osborn at 563-322-8844 or ach@gahc.org to select your school.
Sponsor One Classroom:
Outreach: $35 plus mileage
An educator from the museum visits the classroom and presents a fun, interactive program.
Field Trip: $75
Students take a field trip to the museum. The sponsorship covers admission t to the museum. (Does not include bussing fees).
Sponsor an Outreach Presentation:
The museum provides the same presentation to the school on one day for 3 to 5 classrooms.
Half day: $100 (up to 3 programs in 3 hours)
Full day: $150 (4-5 programs, or more than 3 hours)
Sponsor a School: Subject Area Outreach: $980
Allows each classroom(Approximately 28 classrooms) in one elementary school to enjoy an outreach visit by the German American Heritage Center. This sponsorship allows the individual classrooms the convenience of scheduling the program anytime during the school year. Also, the museum can customize the program to fit with the specific class subject that the students may be learning at that time.
• In addition, each student will receive a free child’s pass to visit the German American Heritage Center.
Sponsor a School: Field trip $1600 -2100 (sponsorship depends on number of students in school)
• Allows each classroom in one elementary school to enjoy an outreach visit by the German American Heritage Center
• In addition, each student will receive a free child’s pass to visit the German American Heritage Center.
Visit Our New Museum
Over the past 14 years, the German American Heritage Center building (712 W Second Street, Davenport, Iowa) was saved from demolition, restored, renovated and became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Since 2007, GAHC underwent a complete interior renovation and has increased exhibit space by six times the original layout. The museum includes a new interactive, audio-visual permanent exhibit, “The German Immigrant Experience.” The exhibit takes visitors on an exploration of what it was like to be an immigrant to this area in the 1800s.
A brief history: From immigrant hotel to heritage museum
Built around the late 1860s, the GAHC location appears to have had its earliest history in the hostelry enterprise. Around 1872, the thirty-room hotel was a popular spot for many immigrants, visitors, and farmers who came to Davenport. Its German character as a “Gast Haus” lasted well into the early years of the twentieth century. Today the GAHC serves as a museum, genealogy research center, and educational/cultural resource.
What to expect at the newly expanded museum
New interactive, audio-visual permanent exhibit, “The German Immigrant Experience”
The new exhibit space at the museum is 3,550 square feet and includes two additional traveling exhibit spaces. The permanent exhibit is highly interactive and includes a theater, audio-visual stations, artifacts and two restored hotel rooms. The creation of this exhibit area marks a major milestone at GAHC; achieving its goal of providing a premier educational, historical and recreational experience. The exhibit was designed by Morgan-Bailey Consulting out of Des Moines, Iowa.
Additional new traveling and special exhibit spaces
GAHC now has two special/traveling exhibit spaces. These spaces will change throughout the year showcasing different exhibits. Current special exhibits include “Brewery Ephemera,” that explores the history of local breweries established by German immigrants; and “A to Zither,” a journey into the world of the sounds and tradition of the German zither instrument.
Expanded education and recreational programs and events
With the newly expanded exhibits at GAHC, we will create seven new education programs for schools, new field trips, outreach programs and education tours. The permanent exhibit is specifically designed so that all curriculum areas from geography and literature to science can be explored. Special new group tours, community programs, member-only events and trips will also be offered.
New facility rental space
GAHC has a new rental space on fourth floor that boasts panoramic views of the Mississippi River and the City of Davenport. GAHC will use the space for programs and will also make it available for private and nonprofit groups to rent. Discount rates are available for GAHC members and nonprofit groups. The space can hold up to 100 persons, includes a kitchenette, restrooms, tables/chairs, and audio-visual equipment.
The German American Heritage Center is located at 712 W 2nd Street, Davenport.
ADMISSION
$5 ADULTS; $4 SENIOR CITIZENS (60+); $3 CHILDREN (AGES 5 – 17); FREE (UNDER 5)
Tuesday through Saturday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Sunday: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
MEMBERSHIP
INDIVIDUAL $35
COUPLE $45 (TWO ADULTS IN SAME HOUSEHOLD)
HOUSEHOLD $55 (UP TO TWO ADULTS & CHILDREN IN SAME HOUSEHOLD)
GRANDPARENTS $55 (UP TO TWO GRANDPARENTS & THEIR GRANDCHILDREN)
LIFE MEMBER INDIVIDUAL $1,000 (OR $1,500 FOR TWO ADULTS IN SAME HOUSEHOLD)
