Adult Program Offerings

Take an African Adaptation Safari with Curator of Natural Science Chris Chandler. Are you curious about how elephants hear with their feet, what’s with the Lion’s mane, and what you have to do to run as fast as a Cheetah? Then, this is the program for you. With help from the museum’s collections, we’ll discover some of the more innovative ways Mother Nature has worked her magic to create animals highly adapted to the African wilderness.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 30 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: Hall of Mammals 

Everyone has clothing, quilts, photos and documents they want to preserve and pass on. Museums are expert at taking care of these things. Learn these secrets and techniques to care for your mementos at home. This program offers hands-on learning in how to care for all your treasures.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: River, Prairie, and People

The Putnam Museum has been collecting natural science, history and anthropology objects for more than 150 years. Artifacts and specimens from all over the world have been donated by local residents and avid collectors. The collection is large and eclectic to say the least. And, let’s admit it, some artifacts are just weird. From shrunken heads to hairballs, none of these objects will ever be designated “national treasures,” but many have earned a place in the hearts and memories of the community. Learn the stories behind these well-loved objects and many of the other wonderfully strange pieces preserved at the Putnam.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65

In 1877, two engraved slate tablets were discovered in a burial mound site southwest of Davenport. One contained pictures and primitive writing, the other was a calendar stone marked with 12 signs similar to the European zodiac.

Were they proof of early European settlers in the region, or a practical joke gone bad? No less prestigious an institution than the Smithsonian first authenticated them, then later declared them a fraud. Find out how the infamous Davenport Tablets helped change archaeology forever.

Afterwards, why not visit River, Prairie and People to see the original tablets?

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: River, Prairie, and People

Discover how the Putnam used CT scans to discover more about their mummies. Virtually peel back the wrappings and look inside one mummy, and examine hidden secrets of the unwrapped mummy. You’ll also hear the stories behind the Putnam’s acquisition of our two mummies. Not everything is what it appears to be!

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: Unearthing Ancient Egypt

Learn about the first people who lived in the Quad Cities area over 10,000 years ago; and how their culture changed until they greeted the first EuroAmerican to arrive here. Discover how anthropologists use artifacts to tell the stories of daily live in ancient cultures. This program includes hands-on learning based on Native American artifacts from the Putnam’s collection.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: River, Prairie, and People

Through history many women focused their artistic talents on producing handicrafts and household goods. Quilts offered women a blank slate for their creative expression. A slide show allows viewers to discover the history of the American quilt and see some of the amazing quilts in the Putnam Museum’s Collection.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: River, Prairie, and People

Join Putnam Curator of Natural Science Chris Chandler on a whirlwind tour of some of the hazards museum staff contend with day to day, working with the objects they love in their collections. You may never look at a mummy or a mounted bird the same way again.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65

In the 1800’s women’s clothing actually restricted them from taking an active part in society. By the 1920’s, both women’s clothing – and society – was much looser. Learn how changes in women’s fashion reflected women’s changing roles in society as they joined the workforce, participated in sports and even frequented speakeasies. After the presentation, put on white gloves and examine articles of clothing, some over 100 years old, from the Putnam’s collection.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65

Travel back to1816, when construction began on Ft. Armstrong, a site recommended by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike. Hear about the Black Hawk War and locals such as Colonel Davenport and Antoine LeClaire and the roles they played in the War and subsequent Treaty of 1832. Find out how the slave Dred Scott was connected to Ft. Armstrong and learn why there is a Confederate Cemetery on the Island. We’re calling the program “Famous Ft. Armstrong, because you’ll be  surprised at how many of the most famous names in early American history are connected to Ft. Armstrong and the Rock Island Arsenal. Artifacts from the Putnam’s collection will help tell the story.

Capacity: 30 students
Time: 45 minutes
Cost: $65
Exhibit Connection: River, Prairie, and People