The mission of the Grout Museum District is to provide an understanding of the world through history and science.

Grout Museum of History and 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, regional flora and fauna, 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.

Rensselaer Russell House Museum

The Rensselaer Russell House Museum, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is often cited as Iowa’s finest example of Italianate architecture. This lovely brick structure, lived in by three generations of the Russell family, is one of the oldest homes in Black Hawk County. Guided tours bring it to life with original furnishings and stories of the Russell family and their experiences in Victorian Waterloo.

Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum

The Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum honors the service and sacrifice of all Iowa veterans from the Civil War to present. Step into their stories through traditional exhibits, interactive activities and an electronic Wall of Honor. The Museum consists of over 35 interactive exhibits. Interviews collected via the Voices of Iowa Oral History Project total over 1,500.