A trio of larger-than-life bronze bison sculptures traveling across the U.S. will make their only Iowa stop this weekend.
The sculptures, commissioned by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, are part of a year-long effort celebrating American bison and the upcoming 250th anniversary of the U.S. Designed by Colorado natural history artist Gary Staab, the three statues are traveling from Colorado to the nation’s capital as part of what organizers are calling “The Great American Bison Road Trip.”
Their Iowa stop is scheduled for March 15 at the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History in Iowa City.
The American bison was officially named the national mammal of the U.S. in 2016 when President Barack Obama signed the National Bison Legacy Act into law. A decade later, the traveling sculptures are intended to highlight the animal’s cultural, ecological and scientific significance.
Jessica Smith with Pentacrest Museums said Iowa City is a meaningful stop on the sculptures’ national journey. Bison once roamed the prairies that covered much of Iowa, including Iowa City. The museum has featured several exhibits featuring bison.
“Iowa, in general, is a really important stop because of our history with prairie interaction between Indigenous and native cultures with the bison,” Smith said. “We have some of the most important archaeological dig sites in the world that give us a lot of information about the history of bison and human interaction.”
Across North America, an estimated 30 to 60 million bison shaped grasslands and ecosystems before westward expansion and federal policies devastated the species. By 1870, bison had disappeared from Iowa. Today, a few hundred that have been reintroduced roam on conservation and prairie restoration sites in the state, including large herds at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City and Broken Kettle Grasslands near Sioux City.
The sculptures began their trip on March 11 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. After stops in Lincoln, Neb., and Iowa City, they will continue to the Field Museum in Chicago before they are installed outside the Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C., where they will go on public display on March 19.
Communities along the route are being invited to gather and wave goodbye as the statues continue their journey, which will be featured in a documentary about the bison’s cross-country trip.
How to see the bison in Iowa City
The bison sculptures will arrive early Sunday morning and will be displayed on an open truck bed parked on Clinton Street in front of the University of Iowa Museum of Natural History.
Visitors can stop by throughout the day to see the statues and talk with Smithsonian content experts and “bison ambassadors” about the sculptures, the history of the species and the national road trip project.
The museum will also host a series of public events inside McBride Hall:
Morning–3 p.m. — Bronze bison sculptures on display on Clinton Street outside the museum. Smithsonian experts available for questions and conversation.
1–5 p.m. — The Museum of Natural History is open to the public with exhibits featuring bison, including a historic diorama in Mammal Hall.
1:30–2:30 p.m. — Public talks in the McBride Hall auditorium. Pentacrest Museums Director Liz Crooks and Smithsonian experts will discuss bison history, research, conservation and the traveling sculpture project. After the talks, there will be hands-on activities and opportunities to explore museum galleries with bison-related displays and research collections.
3 p.m. — Community send-off outside the museum as the sculptures depart for their next stop in Chicago.
Organizers hope Iowans will gather to give the bronze herd a warm welcome — and a memorable farewell — as it continues its journey to D.C.
