Ames History Museum

09/04/2026

We recently freshened up our Ames High School display by swapping out some artifacts in the exhibit case. 🧡🖤

Check out this school-spirit hat from the 1970s!

Donation in honor of Lori Figura Evans, 2024.002.

09/03/2026

We are excited for this year's Ames: A Glimpse Inside event! Join us in downtown Ames on October 17 to learn more about eleven historic properties.

Join us as a volunteer!

09/01/2026

Have you seen our lobby case exhibit about Welch Junior High? There's about a week left to see it! (Sneak peek: next week, this case will be changed to feature the 50th anniversary of CyRide.)

Welch Junior High on State Avenue opened this week in Ames history - September 3, 1968. It was the first building constructed to house only junior high classes.

Stop by the museum to learn more and see Welch Junior High artifacts from the collection.

08/31/2026

Cool then and now shot!

08/31/2026

Seventy-four Ames Tribune newspaper carriers learned about a magazine subscription program at a special meeting held at Skateland in August 1956. Carriers could earn points for prizes for each subscription sold.

For well over a century, local youths delivered local newspapers in Ames. These jobs provided an opportunity to learn responsibility by managing time, customers, and invoices. In 2012, the Ames Tribune phased out youth carriers and shifted to adult carriers.

Ames Tribune photo from August 24, 1956.

08/30/2026

Today in Ames history: the Iowa State University football stadium was officially re-dedicated as Jack Trice Stadium on August 30, 1997.

Trice was Iowa State's first Black athlete, competing in track and football. He died from injuries sustained at a varsity football game in Minnesota in October 1923.

The stadium renaming in 1997 came after decades of campaigning by students and faculty. It remains the only Division I FBS stadium named in honor of a Black student athlete.

08/29/2026

Featuring several rock bands and art displays, the Story County YMCA Shelter House (predecessor to YSS) hosted a Summer Fest concert in August 1974.

The event took place at Iowa State’s intramural field across from Hilton Coliseum with around 1500 people attending on a sunny, 75 degree day.

Bands featured included All Points Up Band, the sunshine, Tom Richards’ Jug Band, and more.

Ames Tribune photos from August 12, 1974.

08/28/2026

Today in Ames history: Ada Hayden Heritage Park was dedicated on August 28, 2004.

For five decades the land now occupied by the park was the home to the Hallett Construction Company (formerly Hallett Materials). In 1993 the company moved and years later, after much debate, the City purchased the approximately 460 acres for a nature preserve.

The park was named after Ada Hayden, the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from Iowa State in 1918. Hayden was an important champion of Iowa prairie conservation and devoted her life to the documentation and conservation of Iowa's few remaining prairies.

08/28/2026

The museum will close at 1pm today so staff can set up for our annual fundraising gala this evening. 🎩

Regular hours resume tomorrow - 10am-4pm.

08/26/2026

Have you had an ear of local sweet corn yet this summer? This photo series shows the 1962 Izaak Walton League Corn Boil with attendees preparing and enjoying scrumptious Iowa sweet corn.