Year: 2026

Collection Couture Club

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Fashion’s Past, Unlocked for Today.

For the people who don’t just admire style, they study it, question it, and want to get close enough to see the stitches.

Collection Couture Club is Putnam Museum’s new members-only fashion and textile circle, built for people who want more than labels and lookbooks. This is where you move from spectator to insider, stepping directly into the Collection where the most compelling garments and textiles are kept, the pieces almost
no one gets to see.

Curated. Stylish. Just a touch mysterious.
That’s the point.

What Members Experience

Collection Viewings
Intimate, private access to garments and textiles rarely seen on display, the kind of pieces that reshape your understanding of fashion’s lineage.

Couture Sessions
Conversations with conservators who reveal how history, craftsmanship, and contemporary aesthetics collide.

Collection Conversations
Behind-the-scenes looks at the world of collecting, why certain pieces matter, how collections are built, and what it takes to preserve them.

Collection Couture Club launches Thursday, June 25 at 6:30 PM.

Unlock the collection. Join the club.
Membership: $100 per person

Join Us!

To sign-up please contact Nancy Calzada at 563-336-7285 or ncalzada@putnam.org

Questions? Contact Michele Darland Vice President of Development mdarland@putnam.org

Artifacts & Archives: Episode 1

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Thomas Jefferson, the American Mastodon and Nation Building

What links one of our nation’s founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, the fossil finds of a giant beast, the American Mastodon, and the Early American fight against Old World elitism to bolster the legitimacy of the American experiment? 

Listen to Episode 1

Episode Resources

Views expressed during this podcast belong to the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect those of the Davenport Public Library or the Putnam Museum & Science Center. Hosts attempt to use historically accurate language and racial terminology set forth by the Smithsonian Institute. We are committed to intellectual honesty and scholarly integrity in presenting information and objects described in this podcast. 

Davenport’s Civil Rights Movement

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Discover Davenport’s Role in the Fight for Civil Rights

The Davenport Civil Rights Traveling Exhibit invites you to explore the powerful stories, struggles, and triumphs that shaped the fight for equality in our community. Through photographs, documents, and firsthand oral histories, this exhibit highlights Davenport’s role in the broader Civil Rights Movement and honors the individuals who stood for justice. Discover how local actions helped drive national change, and why these stories still matter today.

Davenport Civils Rights Movement traveling exhibit

View the exhibit online, in sections:

Section 1: The Ferment Begins (1945-1954)
Section 2: The Ferment Grows (1955-1963)
Section 3: Ferment at High Tide (1964-1968)
Section 4: The Ferment Subsides (1969-1974)   

Additional Resources:
American Civil Rights Movement: Davenport Public Library
Davenport Civil Rights Walking Tour

Oral History Collection

Explore our oral history collection, bringing the Davenport’s Civil Rights Movement to life through the voices of those who experienced it firsthand. These recorded stories share personal struggles, triumphs, and reflections, offering an intimate look at the fight for equality in our community.

Coming Soon!

Touring Locations

Davenport Public Library – Fairmount
3000 N Fairmount St, Davenport, IA
February 1 – 27, 2026

Davenport Public Library – Eastern
6000 Eastern Ave. Davenport, IA
March 2 – 31, 2026

Davenport Public Library – Main
321 N Main St. Davenport, IA
April 1 – 30, 2026

Want to Host the Exhibit at Your Location?

Bring the Davenport’s Civil Rights Movement traveling exhibit to your location at no cost!

This exhibit is free to rent for one month*. If you would like to rent it for more than one month, please make a note in your request form. The Putnam Museum and Science Center cannot guarantee availability for extended rentals. 

The exhibit is made up of four 10’ long x 1’ deep x 7.5’ tall pop-up banners. When collapsed for transport, each banner folds down to the approximate size of a small suitcase. Please confirm all 4 banners can fit inside your space before submitting a request form. To learn how to operate the banners, please watch this video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIfsgOoM2c4 

Davenport’s Civil Rights Movement Traveling Exhibit
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*The exhibit will transfer on the last day of the month. On months where the last day falls over the weekend, the exhibit will transfer on the Friday before. In December, the exhibit will transfer on December 30. If you rent the exhibit for the duration of the month, you will receive it on the last day of the previous month (a rental for September will receive the exhibit on August 31, and the exhibit will leave the location on September 30). 

The organization renting the exhibit is responsible for any damage to the exhibit while it is housed at their location. 

The Davenport’s Civil Rights Movement traveling exhibit is made possible through funding from Museums Advancing Racial Justice supported by the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Smithsonian Institution’s Reckoning with our Racial Past, and the Doris and Victor Day Foundation.