Celebrating the 150th birthdays of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover
#Hoover150
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is excited to celebrate the sesquicentennial birthdays of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, the 31st President of the United States and First Lady of the United States.
Throughout 2024, the Library and Museum will host a series of events, activities, camps, and celebrations to honor the lives and legacies of the Hoovers. Below you can review our special calendar and register for events for all ages.
2024 Hoover 150 Public Programs
Friday, April 19: Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator
This free monthly program allows visitors to see items from our collection that aren't typically shown in our galleries. Speak with archivists and Museum staff in an informal setting about a specific topic each month.
Due to their extensive food relief efforts after World War I in Belgium and northern France, Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover received hundreds of repurposed feed and flour sacks as gifts. Museum Curator Marcus Eckhardt will showcase a variety of feed and flour sacks in the Museum collection, sharing the unique designs and details behind some of his favorites.
Staff will be available from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., and again from 2-3 p.m. Registration is not required.
Saturday, April 20: Eco-Science Festival
Celebrate Earth Day with the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum! In partnership with the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, we will host sustainability-themed information booths, activities, and crafts for all ages from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
This event is free with admission to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Registration is not required and all are welcome to attend.
Friday, May 17: Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator
This free monthly program allows visitors to see items from our collection that aren't typically shown in our galleries. Speak with archivists and Museum staff in an informal setting about a specific topic each month.
Have you ever wondered how a museum takes care of its collection? Join Sara Godin, museum registrar, as she brings objects out of storage and to answer any questions you might have about museums or Presidential Libraries!
Staff will be available from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., and again from 2-3 p.m. CST. Registration is not required.
Saturday, June 8: Summer Kickoff
As part of the annual Summer Kickoff celebration held in downtown West Branch. To learn more about this event, visit the Main Street West Branch website.
Friday, June 21: Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator
This free monthly program allows visitors to see items from our collection that aren't typically shown in our galleries. Speak with archivists and Museum staff in an informal setting about a specific topic each month.
The personal papers of Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter, Rose Wilder Lane are preserved at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Wilder's "Little House" books have charmed generations of readers with their vivid depictions of frontier life in the 1870s and 1880s. Join us as we discuss the facts and the fiction revealed in the letters, diaries, and manuscripts of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Rose Wilder Lane.
Staff will be available from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., and again from 2-3 p.m. CST. Registration is not required.
Wednesday, June 26: Making It! Presidential Edition Summer Day Camp
This one-day youth camp highlights the 1920s, a decade of new inventions! In this hands-on, minds-on camp, campers will explore innovations of the 1920s and be challenged to create prototypes to solve real-world problems. Dive into STEAM in this fun, engaging, game-show format!
There is a fee for this event to cover the cost of materials.
To register for this event, click here.
Friday, July 19: Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator
This free monthly program allows visitors to see items from our collection that aren't typically shown in our galleries. Speak with archivists and Museum staff in an informal setting about a specific topic each month.
Join Archivist Patrick Osborn as he shows and details official Federal government reports and privately produced newspapers relating to the final days of the Bonus March in the summer of 1932. See the differences in how this event was documented and interpreted in a variety of ways.
Staff will be available from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., and again from 2-3 p.m. CST. Registration is not required.
Monday, July 22 - Friday, July 26: Lights, Camera Hoover! Summer Camp
This week-long youth camp offers a unique opportunity to produce video to be viewed on the big screen of our theater and across the globe on social media!
This camp will guide campers through every aspect of filmmaking! From idea conception to screenwriting, planning, production and post-production, campers will experience every step needed to create a short film about Herbert Hoover. The films will be shown to family and friends on the last day of camp, and will also be shared on social media!
Parents and guardians will need to sign a release permitting the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum to share photos and videos from this camp.
There is a fee for this camp to cover the cost of materials.
To register for this event, click here
Saturday, August 10: Celebrate Herbert Hoover's Birthday!
Join us as we celebrate Herbert Hoover 150th birthday with special events, free Girl Scout Cookies in honor of Lou Henry Hoover, and free admission to the Museum, made possible by the Hoover Presidential Foundation. In conjunction with Hoover's Hometown Days, this offers a unique opportunity to take part in a community-wide celebration as we honor the life and legacy of the 31st President of the United States, and the only President born in Iowa.
More information will follow.
Saturday, August 10: Honoring Hoover: A Special Family Discussion
In recognition of the 150th birthdays of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover, descendants of the Hoover Family will discuss the lives and legacies of their great-grandparents, and what it has mean to them to hold the Hoover name.
Speakers include great-grandchildren Margaret Hoover, Leslie Hoover-Lauble, and Allan Hoover III.
More information will follow.
Saturday, August 10: Honoring Hoover: A Special Conference Event
Hear from multiple historians and speakers as they break down various aspects of Herbert Hoover's life in the White House and beyond.
More information will follow.
Friday, August 16: Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator
This free monthly program allows visitors to see items from our collection that aren't typically shown in our galleries. Speak with archivists and Museum staff in an informal setting about a specific topic each month.
Celebrate Herbert Hoover's birthday with Hoover AV Archivist Lynn Smith as she shows newsreel films showing birthday celebrations of the 31st President. A special highlight will be the remarks made by President Harry Truman at the dedication ceremony for the opening of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in 1962.
Staff will be available from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., and again from 2-3 p.m. CST. Registration is not required.
Friday, September 13: Ask an Archivist, Converse with a Curator
This free monthly program allows visitors to see items from our collection that aren't typically shown in our galleries. Speak with archivists and Museum staff in an informal setting about a specific topic each month.
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we will be sharing films and objects from Hoover’s 1928 Goodwill Tour to Central and South America.
Staff will be available from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., and again from 2-3 p.m. CST. Registration is not required.
Friday, September 20: Naturalization Ceremony
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum will host a naturalization ceremony to celebrate Constitution Day. In recognition of Constitution Day (September 17), candidates will become new citizens of the United States.
The ceremony will be held on the east lawn of the Library and Museum, within the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. The event is open to the public and there is no admission to attend. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved indoors to the Library and Museum’s Auditorium and space will be limited.
This event is made possible by the U.S. District Court Northern District of Iowa, League of Women Voters, Daughters of the American Revolution Nathaniel Fellows Chapter, the Extension Chords singers, the American Legion Post 514, Hoover Presidential Foundation, the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.
Saturday, September 28: Hispanic Heritage Celebration
Join the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in partnership with the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with food, music, dancing, and lots of family-friendly activities for all ages!
The event runs from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
This event is free with admission to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Registration is not required and all are welcome to attend.