Calendar of Events
We strive to provide informative, engaging, and most importantly – FUN events to the Cedar Rapids area. Our events focus mainly on the history of the Czech and Slovak people, with hands on workshops, informative history lessons, and exhibit opening receptions.
Exhibits
Guts & Glory: The War Train that Shaped a Nation
Artifacts, Current Exhibits, Historical
160
1968 (re)ACTION: The Prague Spring
Current Exhibits
20
Blindfolded: Europe on the Road to the Great War
Current Exhibits
11
Faces of Freedom
Artifacts, Current Exhibits, Exhibit, Experience, Historical
600
Membership
Members of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library include admission to the NCSML for one member, Biannual Journal –Slovo, our bi-annual Newsletter – MOST, free enrollment in our Time Travelers Program (including benefits at 100+ museums), and access to members only events.
Donate
Without our members, sponsors, and other supporters, the NCSML would not be where it is today. We have made it our mission to ensure that the culture, people, and histories are celebrated, embraced, and shared — your support helps us accomplish that mission.
Volunteer
It is with the help of our dedicated volunteers that the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library continues to serve the community. We have tasks to engage all ages and abilities levels. Our volunteers reported advancing their communication skills and acquiring job skills.
Space Rental
The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library’s facilities offer an elegant approach to wedding venues, wedding reception venues, event spaces, and galas in Cedar Rapids, IA. Partner with our event planning team to create an experience that your guests will be sure to remember.
Oral Histories
A Look into the Past
“I went through several shocks. In 1968, it started so well. The beginning of 1968 was the Prague Spring, and I cannot explain it; I cannot compare it to anything else. Maybe the United States after 9/11 when all of the sudden everyone was carrying flags and people were all together and ‘We are in it together.’ That was the feeling I had in spring 1968.”
“We grew up on a very traditional farm, in a very traditional way. Most of the villagers were farmers; however, the village was self-sustained because there was a cluster of villages and every village had someone who did something. There was a dressmaker and a shoemaker and a cabinet maker and a baker, and there was a little church nearby and there was a priest and there was a school in the village, which was the grammar school, [grades] one to five.”
“I remember the big holes from bombings going through the bridge and you could see down to the water. My grandma took me to my house; we already carried American, French, and British flags, and the Germans were shooting from the roofs [of Palackého naměstí] at us so we had to hide in a couple of houses with my grandma until dark…”
