Exhibits
A Decade of Royalty: Tulip Queen Costumes, 2013-2024
Tulip Time has seen 87 Tulip Queens reign over the festival since 1936. Thanks to dedicated researchers and seamstresses, the unique costumes worn by Pella's Tulip Queens have grown more intricate and authentic over the years. View the one-of-a-kind Queens' costumes from the last decade up close in our 2024 feature exhibit!
Drawings from the Hunger Winter, 1944-'45
Donated to Pella Historical Museums by Else Flim and Adrian Kok of the Netherlands, this collection of watercolor images depicts the difficulties (and rare joys) of life in the Netherlands during the Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944-1945, right at the end of World War II.
Gouda Pottery Collection
Our Gouda Pottery Collection is one of the largest in North America. Pronounced "how-da," Gouda is a city in the Netherlands known for its cheese and its abundance of clay. The production of decorative Gouda pottery began in the late nineteenth century, extending through the 1920s. Due to the depression and World War II, production and sales declined in the twentieth century, making it very rare today. Come see our beautiful collection, donated by Richard Dexter of Beloit, Wisconsin.
Dutch Costume Exhibit
The Dutch costume exhibit features costumes from all over the Netherlands, spanning many time periods, provinces, and villages. Dutch costumes often symbolize different aspects of the person wearing it, such as religious denomination, marriage status, or stage of mourning. Learn about the traditions of different costumes, from tip of the hat to bottom of the wooden shoe!​
Goliath: Dutch Street Organ
Our Dutch street organ, dubbed Goliath, was built between 1884 and 1900 in Belgium. It eventually made its way to Pella, where it is now on display in Heritage Hall. Goliath has nine hundred pipes that produce each sound, and it plays by "reading" slotted books with a pinbox, each slot telling it where to send compressed air. Goliath comes out to play a few times a year, but you can see him at rest whenever the museum is open.
Pella History Timeline
Located in Sterrenberg Library, the Pella History Timeline covers important events in Pella's past, from who lived here before the Dutch arrived, to the town's founding in 1847, to more recent events like the Vermeer Windmill being built. Learn about Pella's earliest schools, businesses that have come and gone, and how we broke a world record!
