National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library facts for kids

National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

Established	1974
Location	1400 Inspiration Place SW Cedar Rapids, Iowa

The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) is a special place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA. It's a museum and library that teaches about the history and culture of Czech and Slovak people. It started in 1974 and moved to its current spot in 1983. A big flood in 2008 caused a lot of damage, but the museum worked hard to rebuild and reopened in 2012, bigger and better!

The Museum's Early Days: Building a Dream

In 1974, some Czech Americans in Cedar Rapids wanted to save their heritage. They started the Czech Fine Arts Foundation. Their collection of old items and documents grew quickly. So, in 1978, they opened a small Czech Museum in a three-room house. More items and helpers joined them there.

In 1981, the collections moved to a new building. The goal was to show them to the public all the time. In 1983, the group bought an old immigrant home from the 1800s. They moved it to their property and fixed it up. It was decorated to look like homes from the 1880s and 1890s.

Three presidents came together to open the museum in 1995: the leader of the Czech Republic, the leader of Slovakia, and the leader of the United States.

From 1983 on, the museum started hiring staff. During the 1980s, it received more old items and money from Czech and Slovak Americans. The museum also got its current name during this time. By the 1990s, the museum and library needed more space. Plans for a new, much larger building began.

Money was raised for the new building. On October 28, 1993, they started digging the ground for it. The new building officially opened on October 21, 1995. Three important leaders were there: U.S. President Bill Clinton, Czech President Václav Havel, and Slovakian President Michal Kováč. About 7,000 people came to celebrate this big event!

Amazing Exhibitions and Museum Growth

An invitation card for the "Bohemian Garnets" exhibition.

On May 24, 1997, the museum opened a huge international show. It was called "A Thousand Years of Czech Culture." This exhibit featured special items borrowed from the National Museum in Prague. The museum said over 30,000 people visited this show from all over the U.S. and 22 other countries.

In 1998, a permanent exhibit opened. It was called "Homelands: The Story of the Czech and Slovak People." This exhibit is always there for visitors to learn from. In 1999, the museum held its first history and culture conference.

In 2000, the museum got some important upgrades. They added safe, temperature-controlled storage rooms for their collections. They also created a new space for temporary exhibits. In the same year, the library's collection doubled in size. This happened when they received many Slavic language books from Benedictine University.

The museum and library also started publishing a journal called Slovo. It's about history and culture and comes out twice a year.

In the years that followed, the museum kept growing its collections. More people became members, and more events were held. In 2001, the museum began planning to get more land. They wanted to build a research and performing arts center. They also started raising money to have $5 million by 2005. The NCSML said that in 2002, they had over 1,900 members.

In 2002, the museum opened an exhibit called "Kroje—Dress for the Dance of Life!" This show was about traditional Kroje clothing. It ran until January 19, 2003. The museum also hosted meetings for groups interested in Czech glass and Czech-Slovak family history.

On March 4, 2005, a new exhibition opened. It was called "The Bohemian Garnets." This show displayed beautiful jewelry from different time periods. It also had dishes and other items made with the Czech national gemstone, the garnet. These items were also borrowed from the National Museum in Prague.

The 2008 Flood and Amazing Rebuilding Efforts

The museum area during the big flood in 2008.

In 2008, a huge flood hit Iowa. The Cedar River overflowed, and the museum was flooded with about 8 feet of water. This caused a lot of damage to the exhibits and everything inside. The damage was estimated to be around $8 million or $9 million. This flood happened just days before the museum was going to announce plans to triple its size!

Luckily, museum staff were able to save two truckloads of important items before the flood hit. They focused on moving valuable Fine art and folklore pieces first. However, two exhibits were destroyed. One of them was about the Prague Spring in 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia that followed.

Right after the flood, items from the upper levels of the building (which weren't flooded) were moved out. Damaged items were sent away to be fixed. Some library books were even sent to Chicago to be freeze-dried and saved. Experts from the Chicago Conservation Center helped save textiles and linens.

Before the 2008 flood, about 35,000 people visited the museum each year. It brought about $1 million to the local economy. The library had about 30,000 Slovak-related items. Two-thirds of these were stored safely away from the flood. About 40 percent of the museum's artifacts are Slovak. The museum has the largest collection of kroje (traditional clothing) outside of Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Some of the oldest pieces are from the 1500s!

During the flood, all 5,000 of the museum's old phonograph records were damaged. These records documented 80 years of Czech and Slovak music. The University of Iowa Libraries Preservation Department was able to fix and save most of them.

After the flood, the museum opened a temporary location at Lindale Mall. In April 2010, this temporary home moved to the Kosek Building in Cedar Rapids. This new temporary space had a gallery and a museum gift shop. An exhibit called "Rising Above: The Story of the People and the Flood" also opened there. This exhibit tells the story of the 2008 flood. It compares it to earlier floods in 1929 and 1993. It also includes personal stories from people affected by the flood. The exhibit connects the flood story with the history of Cedar Rapids, the Czech Village, and New Bohemia. The Kosek Building is still part of the Museum and Library today.

The Iowa General Assembly (the state's law-making group) set aside $10 million to help the museum rebuild. In October 2008, the Czech ambassador gave a $405,000 donation from the Czech Republic to help with the rebuilding.

Because of the flood damage, it was hard for the museum to get insurance. Other museums were also worried about lending items because of the flood risk. The museum decided to move and expand the building to higher ground. Moving the 15-year-old building cost $713,000. This was much less than the $2 million it would cost to tear it down and rebuild it. Even after the flood, the building was still strong. The museum also wanted to save the original building because of its history. They also wanted to avoid creating unnecessary landfill waste.

The new National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library after its move and expansion.

The cover of Slovo, the journal published by NCSML twice a year since 2000.

The museum building was moved about 480 feet from its old spot. It was placed on a higher foundation. A special ceremony to start the move was held on December 15, 2010. On June 8–9, 2011, the museum building, which weighed about 1,500 tons, was moved to its new site. The new location is 11 feet higher than the old one. It is also 3 feet above the 2008 flood level.

The museum called this event "A Monumental Move." They even set up a webcam so people could watch it online! The City of Cedar Rapids closed a street and a bridge so local people could watch too. The company that moved the museum said it was "apparently the largest museum ever relocated for flood hazard mitigation." They also said it was "probably the only museum ever elevated."

Besides moving the first building, the rebuilt museum is much bigger. It now has a total of 50,000 square feet. This includes larger permanent and temporary exhibit areas. It also has a bigger research library, spaces for educational programs, a new museum store, and more storage for collections. The new building is designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly (LEED-certified).

It includes a new 5,500 square foot library and archives. There's also a 51-seat theater, three galleries, and public and educational spaces for up to 400 people. It has underground parking for 65 cars. There's a terrace with a view of the Cedar River and the Cedar Rapids skyline. Plus, there's an outdoor amphitheater. The total cost to rebuild and recover was about $25 million.

The NCSML received a special approval from the American Alliance of Museums in November 2008. In 2010, the museum started a big fundraising effort. Their goal was to raise $25 million. This money would help make the Kosek Building a permanent part of the NCSML. It would also help fix up The Immigrant Home and the Babi Buresh Center historic homes for tours. Money would also go to design a new permanent exhibit, pay for disaster cleanup, and grow the museum's savings to cover daily costs. The NCSML believes that after reopening, about 54,000 visitors will come each year. This will bring over $1.1 million to the Cedar Rapids area.

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