The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium Receives Grant Support from City of Dubuque's Sustainable Dubuque Grant Program

Dubuque, Iowa - The Dubuque County Historical Society and its National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium were awarded $2,500 in program support from the City of Dubuque's Sustainable Dubuque Grant Program. This funding will support a special conservation education program during the River Museum's Party for the Planet 2026 event. The special Wetlands Invasive Species Removal program, funded by Sustainable Dubuque, is a newly envisioned feature for the River Museum's 2026 Party for the Planet. In celebration of earth day, Party for the Planet is a three-day conservation education event that focuses on the interconnectedness of wildlife and the ecosystems that support them. The event partners with more than a dozen conservation partners and includes demonstrations, immersive activities, live animal encounters, and greenhouse tours. The Wetlands Invasive Species Removal program will feature targeted grazing goats. The goats will demonstrate how to manage invasive plants and overgrowth in a conservation-minded manner by consuming the unwanted flora.

Over the course of three days, interpretation paired with demonstrative grazing goats, will model a "take action" way to use the animal's commonplace feeding cycle to eradicate invasive growth. Through interpreting the goats, Museum visitors will learn about an alternative to pesticides and the danger of spreading invasive growth by mowing or removing flora with gas-powered or energy-consumptive power-tools. This natural remediation technique will improve ecosystem health and make way for a subsequent native planting project that will work to restore the health of the River Museum's wetlands.

Sustainable Dubuque, a city-wide initiative adopted in 2006, established a framework for environmental, economic, and social sustainability, leading to various grant opportunities for community projects. Funding is available to residents and businesses that align with the city's sustainability principles and involve community education and engagement.

The mission of DCHS is to inspire stewardship through educational opportunities where history and rivers come alive. As a steward of local and regional history, the River Museum has become a key community partner for History, STEM, and Conservation informal learning. Serving local, state and national audiences, DCHS's goal is to curate exhibits and programs that best capture regional stories that are tethered to the global perspective, engage diverse audiences in immersive educational learning, and provide an equitable and accessible atmosphere in which all visitors can fully engage.

About the Dubuque County Historical Society

The Society was formed in 1950 as a private, non-profit organization with a focus on oral and archival history. Since that time, its collections have grown to include more than 41,000 historical items, many of which are on display at DCHS properties-the Mathias Ham Historic Site and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium. The Society's mission is to inspire stewardship through educational experiences where history and rivers come alive. It fulfills that mission through dynamic interpretation and exhibition of historical artifacts and archives as well as through the conservation and preservation of these historic treasures.