german american heritage center

Artist Tom Chouteau's Kaleidoscope exhibit, which runs through April 4, is really fascinating and fun for all ages. The artist and his assistant were there on our Saturday visit, and they were happy to answer questions and explain more about the kaleidoscopes. I'm a museum nerd and this was one of the best traveling exhibits I've ever been to--though I love kaleidoscopes, so I might be biased.The rest of the museum is extremely informative as well. The permanent exhibit on German history and German immigration to the US is so thorough that we really couldn't take it all in in just one visit, so we'll be back. For those of you have German ancestry and/or have traveled and lived in Germany, the exhibit will be especially interesting. Nice to know that I'm not alone in thinking that Germany reminded me of this part of the US, and vice versa... the exhibit shows you that the weather, natural resources, culture, etc, are very similar between this part of the Midwest and Germany. The exhibits were well-curated, multi-media, and interactive--really impressive for a small museum in a medium-size metro area.The front desk staff was also helpful and welcoming, and the gift shop offers German gifts and local history books. The admission price was reasonable for the quality of the exhibits. The museum is part of Blue Star Museums, which offers free admission to military and their families from Memorial to Labor Day.

The kaleidoscope exhibit of Tom Chouteu's work drew us in for our first visit to the center and museum. Tom was present at the exhibit and was very friendly and answered questions. The kaleidoscopes on display were spell binding light shows. The scopes were creatively constructed and interactively displayed in forms including a cosmic canon, a captains wheel and a booth among others. It's great that the exhibit and classes will continue through early April. Unfortunately, we arrived too late on a Sunday to devote more time to the rest of the museum. The restoration of the building was well done. This museum is a gem and warrants return visits.

The German American Heritage Center is a very cool self directed tour of the German settlement of the Davenport and surrounding areas. The have lots of artwork, photographs, and stories illustrating early Davenport Settlers. They are always adding more material to the collections and setting up seasonal exhibits.

I spent more time here than I expected to. The introductory video and the interactive video was engaging. Alot of donated artifacts. I recommend even if you don't have German ancestery.

Reasonably priced ! Great Service ! A place i would strongly recommend. Always a family favorite ! Great place to learn about german heritage

This is set in an older building in Davenport and shows all kinds of German memorabilia. If you are of German descent you will really enjoy this museum.

dlots and lots to read so plan to spend a lot of time reading i am of german decent so i enjoyed it.

The massive German immigration to Davenport was a surprise. This is a personal museum, with lots of input from immigrants and not just statistical information. Worth a visit.

My wife loves German culture so I took her to this museum while we were in town. This is a very well put together museum. My only advice would be to allow plenty of time because there is plenty to read.

When we first entered the GAHM building, we were a little concerned because there doesn't seem to be a lot there (gift shop and space for what looks like temporary exhibits, which happened to be of wedding gowns while we were there and was quite well done). But the exhibit upstairs was really good! We started with the film, which tells the history of Germans in eastern Iowa and is pretty well done. Then we started into the actual exhibits. It is very well curated and was interesting for us and for our children. They loved trying on clothes, listening to immigrant stories, playing games. Really very well done. I also loved the fact that the building itself was the first stop for many German immigrants coming to Davenport. Two disappointments: First, the exhibits essentially end with World War II. I would have loved to see more about the German community today. Second, the actors who portrayed immigrants in the short films about coming to America had atrocious accents. If you're going to represent Germans talking about places in Germany and using German names, at least use a reasonable accent! Still, really enjoyable overall.

We took our brilliant German uncle to this Heritage Museum. Because of that we were there much longer than expected. Naturally he knew so many of the exhibits, maps, etc. and explained them to us and the staff in grand detail. I'm quite confident he taught everyone there (us, the staff, other visitors, etc) great history. What a memory!

We took friends on a tour of this museum and were surprised at how much there was to see. The cigar exhibit was interesting. Museum has a neat gift shop.

Neat dioramas & other cultural things to see! What a Great people we Germans are! Check it Out when you get the Chance!

Nice exhibits on German immigrants. Exhibits rotate are available for viewing for several weeks at a time. Volunteers at the front desk are very helpful.

Hello, I am sorry that you had a bad experience here. I assure you that we welcome all visitors here at the German American Heritage Center. Families and groups spanning many generations visit us year round. We strive to be a place of inter-generational learning and a place where people of any ethnic background can learn a little history and have an enjoyable day. I hope that you will visit us again and find your experience to be more along the lines of what I have described above. For any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly. Kelly LaoAssistant Director563-322-8844kelly.lao@gahc.org