The Iowa State Capitol

The girls and I visited the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines.  The Legislature was in session, and while we waited for the House to begin, I was able to explain a little bit about government, bills, and voting.  Rather than take the guided tour, we took the self-guided tour. The girls took their cameras and took many pictures of the statutes, art work and beautiful staircases. 

There was a display of dolls dressed in the formals worn by the First Ladies and a flag that was actually flown during the civil war.  We didn't get to see everything because we had only allowed three hours for our visit. After we finished touring the inside we looked at some of the artwork outside the capitol building. 

There is a gift shop, but you don't necessarily need to get a souvenir.  I did get each of us a book for a cost of $1.00 describing the features inside the capitol and another one for $1.00 describing the artwork on the outside of the building. 

We will be able to bring our books each time we visit until we have had a chance to learn as much as we can about the capitol.  I've added the capitol to our list of things to do this summer.  The girls decided on the way home that they had a fun day.

If you live close enough to your state capital to visit, please share with us what you enjoyed the most out of your visit.