Iowa Heritage Digital Collections is a resource for students, educators, historians, genealogists, and anyone else interested in the people, places and institutions of Iowa. The site provides free access to digital collections from a variety of Iowa cultural institutions.

This website is a collection of Iowa History resources for educators, teachers, historians, and anyone interested in Iowa and its people, culture and places. It provides free access to digital collections from Iowa cultural institutions

This lesson will have students analyze connections among historical events and developments in the contemporary global issue of trade, specifically, trade between the United States and China.   Students will answer the compelling question; Do tariffs improve the lives of workers in a country and in an industry?Students will research the history of trade, specifically, the silk road.  How did this trade route affect the lives of ordinary people? How does the relationship over time between the United States and China affect trade? Students will create a similar learning experience building a lesson that connects the historical events and developments to a contemporary issue around globalization. Copy of the Lesson in a Google Doc.  Licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution License. 

What is a goldfinch, you ask? Of course it is a beautiful bird, but it is was also an Iowa history magazine for young people. Published quarterly by the State Historical Society of Iowa from 1975 to 2000, each issue had a theme (such as immigrants) and included articles, games, and fiction. The University of Iowa Libraries has digitized all of these back issues and visitors can scroll through all of them from this site. Visitors might do well to start by looking at the issues titled "Health in Iowa" and "Traveling Entertainment." Educators might consider these works as a model for teaching young people about history as each issues is well-curated and contains a mix of visual materials and thoughtful text.

Historical images of farm children at school or on their way to school

Historical images of Iowa farmers, farms, families and their work on the farm

Images of Historical Iowa Maps that can be used in an Iowa History course

For Iowa History- Unit 1 PowerPoint video Learn about the Formation of Iowa's Soils and Why the Prairie land is Unique. • Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host...

For Iowa History- Learn about the Formation of Iowa's Soils and Why the Prairieland is Unique. • Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host researcher, ...

For Iowa History- Unit 2 PPT Learn about the First Inhabitants of Iowa. • Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host researcher, author, and curator of ...

For Iowa History- Learn about the First Inhabitants of Iowa• Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host researcher, author, and curator of the Iowa Rural...

For Iowa History- Unit 3 PPT Learn about the First Europeans on Iowa Land-Fur Trade & Tribal Movements 1600-1800• Video narrative written by Sandra Kessle...

For Iowa History- Learn about the First Europeans on Iowa Land-Fur Trade and Tribal Movements 1600-1800 • Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host rese...

For Iowa History- Learn about the Acquisition of Iowa Land Louisiana Purchase & Tribal Treaties• Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host researcher,...

For Iowa History- Unit 4 PPT Learn about the Acquisition of Iowa Land- Louisiana Purchase- and Tribal Treaties• Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler H...

For Iowa History- Unit 5 PPT Learn about Black Hawk's Story and Tribal Movements out of Iowa• Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host researcher, au...

For Iowa History- Learn about Black Hawk's Story & Tribal Movements out of Iowa• Video narrative written by Sandra Kessler Host researcher, author, and curat...