Ruth W. Towne Museum and Visitors Center

Exhibits

In the Lead
This exhibit highlights the development of Truman State University from its founding in 1867 to the present in the context of other historical events of the period.

Rural Roots
Learn about northeast Missouri from the time of its settlement to the early 1900s and the rural environment in which Truman State University developed.

The Student Body
Learn about the opportunities Truman students have to get involved in campus, community, service, and athletic activities.

Who Teaches That?
This exhibit honors outstanding faculty at the University and includes biographical information on the lives and contributions of Dr. Ruth Warner Towne, Professor Eugene Morrow Violette, and Dr. Paul Owen Selby.

The First Ones Here
View artifacts and learn about Native American life in Missouri beginning approximately 15,000 to 12,000 years ago.

Treasures from Special Collections
Pickler Memorial Library’s Special Collections Department offers students, faculty and visitors unique resources for research. The 18th and 19th century French documents that are currently displayed have been the subject of student research.

Cabinet of Curiosities
What do people collect and why? The current exhibit replicates a historic Cabinet of Curiosities case which was popular during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.  View exhibit.

What Is This?
Take a guess at what this artifact is and how it was used.

The Way We See It
Artifacts may be seen and understood from different perspectives. This exhibit describes cuneiform tablets from the University collections that date from ca. 2400 BCE with commentary from eight faculty from various disciplines.

What’s Going On?
Check out current happenings on campus, a web calendar of events, and sounds from Truman’s music and singing groups.

Hot Off the Press
View publications that illustrate Truman’s intellectual and community life. The current exhibit features publications of the Truman State University Press.

Beyond the Classroom
The current exhibit features a variety of research programs at the University that involve faculty and students working together – two examples are Professor Matthew Beakey’s work with his students in astronomy and student Samantha Pounders’ bicycle trip to research the back-to-the-land movement on the U.S. west coast.

Truman Goes Green
Truman is “going green” and this exhibit shows you how. The current display shows University initiatives in biodiesel, agriculture, food production, recycling, composting, and bicycling.

Bulldogs Forever
Update your alumni information, locate alumni clubs around the country, and read about notable Bulldogs.