In an age of complex environmental challenges, why not look to the ingenuity of nature for solutions? The forms, patterns, and processes found in the natural world—refined by 3.8 billion years of evolution—can inspire our design of everything from clothing to skyscrapers. This approach to innovation, called biomimicry, is becoming increasingly popular. Nature’s Blueprints: Biomimicry in Art and Design opens Wednesday, Sept. 1 at the Putnam Museum and Science Center (1717 W. 12th St., Davenport), a Smithsonian affiliate. “The Putnam is the first stop on this exhibit’s national tour... Read More

EXCLUSIVE: The Putnam Museum and Science Center has expanded its leadership team to include a Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Leslie Klipsch, and Vice President of Museum Experiences, Ben Johnson. “The Putnam is emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever. Not only has the facility been re-imagined, but we’ve been able to rebuild our staff,” Putnam President/CEO Rachael Mullins said Thursday. “We’re pleased to welcome two new leaders to the Putnam who both bring an incredible expertise that will further our growth and relevance to our Quad-City community.” Leslie Klipsch is... Read More

Saturday in the Arts is a weekly feature covering a trend, subject, event or personality of local interest. It runs every Saturday morning on your site for the best entertainment and arts coverage in the area, QuadCities.com! Celebrating the Fourth of July is more than barbecues, fireworks, flags and parades. It’s about honoring where America came from, where we are now, and how we can continue to form a more perfect union – together as one nation. That’s part of the invigorating, animating force of the first Civic Season – a national effort about expanding the lens, making space for more... Read More

It’s Sunday, and QuadCities.com proudly presents Fun10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new Fun10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out Fun10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local... Read More

Visit Quad Cities and area museums have teamed up again for Quad Cities Museum Week. After taking a hiatus during the pandemic last June, the annual celebration is back again for its fifth year from June 6 to 13. For all the details, visit www.qcmuseumweek.com. Museums throughout the Q-C region will welcome visitors with activities, new exhibits, discounted admissions, tours, special programs, and more. “We’re back and ready for visitors. This year, 14 museums are participating in Quad Cities Museum Week as we celebrate science, art, history, and discovery,” says Charlotte Doehler-Morrison,... Read More

There was an overpowering feeling of celebration, joy and pride Friday in the former Grand Lobby of the Putnam Museum & Science Center, 1717 W. 12th St., Davenport. Rachael Mullins, Putnam president/CEO, welcomed about 100 guests, supporters and donors of the Quad-Cities institution for a ribbon-cutting and open house preview of the new World Culture Gallery. “We are so appreciative of this moment after the year we’ve all shared together in our community, to have a moment of true celebration here at the Putnam,” she said. Funded by Bechtel Trusts, Scott County Regional Authority, the... Read More

There’s lots of live music hitting the stages around the area this weekend, from the classic rock of Danger Zone to the acoustic stylings of Douglas and Tucker to classical to funk and more! Get a rundown of some of the live music hotspots and what’s going on there this weekend in your weekly podcast for local events, Weekend In 2 Minutes! Click here to listen…  Read More

After being closed for 14 months, the Putnam Museum’s Giant Screen Theater will begin reopening this weekend! The museum’s theater will reopen Saturday, May 15, and the following weekend, the museum (1717 W. 12th St., Davenport) will open “The Colors of Culture” — an original Putnam exhibit, set to open May 22 in the new World Culture Gallery. The World Culture Gallery (in the space of the former Asia Gallery near Unearthing Ancient Egypt) celebrates the diverse cultures of our community by featuring artifacts from the Putnam’s international collection. In its inaugural exhibit,... Read More

The Putnam Giant Screen Theater – 60 feet tall by 70 feet wide – will finally reopen Saturday, May 15, featuring a spectacular 40-minute documentary, “Into America’s Wild,” that was supposed to open in March 2020, when the pandemic shut down life as we knew it. “So it’s one of those wonderful, soaring 3D American landscapes,” Rachael Mullins, president/CEO of the Putnam Museum & Science Center, said Tuesday. “It’s so wonderful — kind of through the eyes of an explorer and adventurer and through the eyes of an astronaut. So it’s a wonderful film that we think... Read More

Let’s face it — Saturday, Feb. 20 will be a big day for museum lovers in the Quad-Cities, as two long-time Davenport institutions open new exhibits. A new original exhibit at the Putnam (1717 W. 12th St.), “Faces of the Past,”  explores portraiture around the world and across time as a reflection of self-identity, popular culture, mythology, and ritual. The exhibit will be included with general admission and remain open through mid-2021 at the Putnam, a Smithsonian Affiliate museum. Throughout the world, people see themselves in different ways. Cultures demonstrate how they view themselves... Read More