Grout Museum of History and Science

Grout Museum of History & Science

Pretend you're a pioneer. Reach for the stars. Explore your ancestry. Your curiosity will take you far.

The Grout Museum of History and Science features permanent and continually changing exhibitions of area history, and the only public planetarium in Northeast Iowa, which holds weekly shows. [view the current schedule]

It's also home to the James, Robert and Dick McKinstry Funded Library, northeast Iowa's largest genealogical reference library. The library also contains an archival collection numbering 21,617 maps, photographs, oral histories, audio/video tapes, clippings and documents relating to the Cedar Valley.

Featured Events

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  Sep

  20

  Storytime Under the Stars

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  Oct

  11

  Strolling with the Spirits 2025

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  Oct

  24

  Starbite Halloween Themed Planetarium Show

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  Oct

  25

  Grout Spooktacular

Find Us

Henry Whittemore Grout

The Grout Museum of History & Science was founded by Henry Whittemore Grout, a prominent Waterloo resident, financier and state legislator who loved to travel and collect reminders of the places he visited, sharing these finds with children in the community. By the time of his death, Grout had collected over 2,000 objects. His will established an endowment and named trustees to care for his collection, which was displayed for many years at the local YMCA.