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Iowa Society

Daughters of the American Revolution

Edith "Edee" Brunia, State Regent, 2022-2024

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DAR Museum Outreach

Robin Lachmann, Chairman

The DAR Museum Outreach Committee strives to "Celebrate the Stars & Stripes Forever.” The mission of the DAR Museum Outreach is “to support the National Society’s goals of preservation, education, and patriotism by collecting, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting the material culture and social history of pre-industrial America. Memorial Continental Hall was originally envisioned in 1890 as a central location for Daughters of the American Revolution “to provide a place for the collection of Historic relics… (with) the erection of a fireproof building.” In 1910 the DAR Museum opened its doors to the public.

DAR members and public audiences can enjoy the DAR Museum from home by exploring the online exhibitions and online collection database. Virtual tours of the period rooms also provide access to museum content and collections. Note that museum staff are constantly updating the online database but objects online may not be on view in the galleries or period rooms. Interested in viewing and studying more collection highlights? Go to the Featured Object page to see some of the magnificent objects given to the museum. These sites are accessed through the DAR Museum Outreach Committee web page on the dar.org/members web site.

Members can support the DAR Museum by donating funds to support education programming and the conservation/restoration of the collections. Please see the Wish list for more information. Chapters are encouraged to educate members and the public about the historic treasures in the DAR museum by inviting a Correspondent Docent to present a program. Iowa Daughter Roberta Swartzendruber is a Correspondent Docent and Carol Hasvold is a Correspondent Docent in Training. Members and chapters can also become involved with the DAR Museum Outreach Committee through donating funds to support the educational programs, and conservation/restoration of the collections. Donations can be made through financial donations supporting the restoration of a particular object, the acquisition of objects for our museum, or even to encourage the museum’s initiatives, which include educational outreach and programming.

To access the DAR Museum Outreach Committee, log on to the NSDAR Members' Website, enter your state, chapter, and national number as prompted. Then choose the Committees tab and click on the DAR Museum Outreach Committee link. From here you can enjoy the DAR Museum from home by exploring the online exhibitions and online collection database. Virtual tours of the period rooms also provide access to museum content and collections. The museum staff are constantly updating the online database but objects online may not be on view in the galleries or period rooms. Interested in viewing and studying more collection highlights? Go to the Featured Object page to see some of the magnificent objects given to the museum. You can also Sign up for the monthly newsletter and event announcements to stay updated on DAR Museum.

Through our efforts to preserve our artifacts and educate others about them, together we will “Celebrate Stars & Stripes Forever.”

Robin Lachmann