The Science Center of Iowa’s newest traveling exhibition that opens Feb. 5 will be complemented by a wide variety of community events centered on mental health awareness. 

The exhibition, “Mental Health: Mind Matters,” is attracting a “phenomenal response” from the Greater Des Moines community, said Curt Simmons, SCI’s president and CEO. 

Since the announcement of the exhibition in early January, there has been an outpouring of support and interest from community partners, mental health organizations and local leaders asking how they can help, he said. The result is a schedule of events that SCI will host in partnership with Capital Crossroads and other community organizations while the exhibition is hosted through April 28.  

“At the Science Center of Iowa, our goal is always to engage audiences around complex science issues that have real meaning,” Simmons said. “With ‘Mind Matters,’ the community is really rallying around us to make this more than just an exhibit.”

Continue reading about events coming up with the exhibit. Read more

The first public event will be a free youth summit for Central Iowa high school students on Feb. 11. Another event on March 4 will feature two half-day sessions on talking about mental health in the workplace. To see a full list of scheduled events, click here.

Much like the past exhibition on race that SCI hosted, “our goal in all of this is to raise awareness and remove stigma and create a safe space for people to have a conversation,” said Dan Raedeker, vice president of community engagement for SCI. More than 60 community leaders participated in a kickoff event SCI held to help build the slate of programs that will be offered.

“It’s been a great way for us to make that connection to some great work that’s been happening for years in mental health,” he said. “There are also opportunities for people to connect with us if they want to host a program,” he added.  

SCI is also engaging the medical community by inviting mental health professionals to volunteer to interact with visitors as they experience the exhibition, Raedeker said. “We’ve outlined several spots to volunteer during the day. We feel it’s a great way to be able to have activity related to the exhibit.” 

The Science Center of Iowa will be just the second museum in the nation to host the exhibition, following the Science Center of Minnesota, which owns the exhibition and debuted it in Minneapolis last summer.