Educational Resources for Learning Creatively with Iowa Arts, History and Film
The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs, through its divisions, is working to promote access to educational resources in arts, culture, history and film that can assist all Iowa educators and families to learn creatively.
Resources include online access to educational resources, virtual programming and accessibility grants.
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Education Programs & Resources
Days of Learning: The newly-launched Days of Learning program connects educators, students, parents and lifelong learners from around the state with dynamic programming to showcase Iowa's arts, history, humanities and film. These free collections are created in partnership with other cultural and humanities organizations to offer expansive online resources to inspire inquisitive minds of all ages.
State Historical Society of Iowa and State Historical Museum
- Digital Education Catalog - lists materials by event and topic, connected to Iowa Core Standards for Social Studies and Literacy
- Virtual Exhibit Experiences (Grades 3-12)
- Primary Source Sets (Grades K-12)
- Read Iowa History (Grades K-5)
- Goldie’s History Kits (Grades K-5)
- Read.Inquire.Write. (Grades 6-8)
- Goldie’s Kids Club (Ages 12 and under)
- National History Day (Grades 6-12)
- Iowa Stories Series
- Iowa History 101 Series
- School or group visits to the State Historical Museum
- State Historic Sites Passport
- Young Writers' Workshop (Grades 7-12)
- Junior Curator Day Camp (Grades 4-6)
- Library & Archives Research Center
Funding Opportunities
New this year! Apply for a Virtual Arts Experience Grant in one of two categories:
- Lifelong Learners: Supports the creation and presentation of innovative virtual programming focused on participatory learning of an art form that is accessible to adult learners;
- Pre-K-12 Education: Supports the creation and presentation of arts content that is intended for Pre-K-12 students and connected to a fine arts discipline(s) and relevant fine arts standards or early learning standards.
Virtual Arts Experience Grants are administered by Iowa Arts Council with funding from the National Endowment for Arts and appropriations from the Iowa Legislature.
Professional Development and Creative Workforce Training
Educators who are looking to sharpen their skills and learn more about virtual learning can connect to these professional development and training programs:
- AEA Learning Online Best Practices for Developing Content
- AEA Learning Online Fine Arts
- Iowa State Education Association
- Future Ready Iowa
- Iowa Department of Education Virtual Learning
- Iowa PBS Education
Statewide Arts, Cultural and Heritage Partners
Connect to Iowa’s own world-class museums, performing arts and music venues, science and nature centers, and cultural and heritage organizations in your community or across the state to explore their educational programs - virtual and in-person:
- Iowa museums' virtual tours
- The Iowa Culture mobile app is a fun and interactive way to discover more than 3,500 arts, history, film and cultural destinations across Iowa’s 99 counties covering 56,272 miles. Explore creative places and historic sites as you navigate with mapping tools and curated tours - free mobile download and online versions available.
- Visiting Artist Series Educational Resources provides free, exclusive content from award-winning artists and ensembles, including brief demonstration videos, study guides, workshop-style videos and more.
