The Putnam Museum and IMAX Theatre is a museum of history and natural science in Davenport, Iowa

Davenport, Iowa

Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The museum was founded in 1867, and was one of the first museums west of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. It houses 160,000 historical artifacts and specimens. It is located at 1717 West 12th Street, at the corner of Division and West 12th Street on "museum hill," near Fejervary Park

Fejervary Park

Fejervary Park is located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. The park is dominated by rolling green grass hills and trees. It features play ground equipment and an aquatic center...

.

The IMAX

IMAX

IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...

 Theatre, with 3D capabilities, has one of the largest movie screens in the state of Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, 57' by 70'.

Permanent Exhibits

Black Earth, Big River is an exploration of the past and present habitats of the Quad-Cities region. Black Earth, Big River, the newest permanent exhibit in the museum features a 718-gallon aquarium filled with river fish, a cave, and a huge oak tree. Habitats and wildlife are explained throughout the exhibit, along with stories of the region.

Hall of Mammals explains various mammals through many means. Photographs, hands-on activities, and realistic dioramas are all provided in this multi-sensory exhibit. From the Arctic polar bears to the African zebras, many different animals are explored in this exhibit.