You need to stop by the Pappajohn Sculpture Park if you happen to be passing by Des Moines in Iowa. This sculpture park is an entire city block jam-packed full of fun artwork. Even the children will enjoy it!
Last summer, our family road tripped to Yellowstone National Park (and a little beyond). Our route took us through Des Moines, and we had the pleasure of stopping to see the Pappajohn Sculpture Park downtown. I’m so glad we did. Our entire family enjoyed this stop. Even the kids!
Pappajohn Sculpture Park
In downtown, Pappajohn Sculpture Park is located at 1330 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa. At 4.4 acres, it takes up a full city block – a full city block of large sculptures by well-known artists. It’s a treasure trove of interesting art!
Parking is easy to find because there is plenty of on-street metered parking in the area.
The best part is that the art is super fun. Some of it is interactive – you can walk inside a couple pieces of artwork. Some of it is silly and fun. Some of it is cute (or, as my seven-year-old called it, cutie-patootie cute). And, several sculptures had a very familiar feel to them.
PRO TIP: Bring cameras for your children and encourage them to snap as many pictures as they want.
Upon parking the car, I handed each of my three children (ages 7, 10 and 17) a camera. I told them to take as many pictures as they wanted and to let me know if they want me to take their pictures by any of the sculptures. And, let me tell you… the kids had a blast!
Our Family’s Favorite Sculptures
As we wandered through the park, we kept finding new “favorite” sculptures. Here are a few sculptures that we were extra excited about.
Back of a Snowman by Gary Hume: Being huge Star Wars fans, my boys were excited to find sculptures that resembled BB-8.
Spider by Louise Bourgeois: This sculpture reminded my teen and I of the Stranger Things TV show.
Ancient Forest by Deborah Butterfield: Another one of her horse sculptures can be found in our hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is prominently displayed at Fred Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. It was neat to see something so familiar to us 500 miles away from home!
Three Dancing Figures by Keith Haring: This sculpture was fun to look at. It almost felt like an optical illusion.
White Ghost by Yoshitomo Nara: This sculpture is adorable. My daughter called it a cutie-patootie.
Nomad by Jaume Plensa: Everyone was impressed with this one. It was large and impressive, you could walk into it, and on sunny days, it makes really interesting shadows on the ground.
Moonrise by Ugo Rondinone: Who wouldn’t want to play peek-a-boo with these silly faces???
Sculpture Tours
Pappajohn Sculpture Park is open daily from sunrise until midnight, and you are welcome to explore the park on your own during city park hours.
Free audio tours are available. (Click here to find out how to access an audio tour.)
Upon advance request, guided tours are available between April and October. (Click here for information about guided tours.)
If visiting this park with children, be sure to print a copy of the Sculpture Park Exploration Guide. This guide is available on the the Pappajohn Sculpture Park website. It recommends fun and interactive activities designed to help children learn about and appreciate the sculptures.
Would Your Family Enjoy the Pappajohn Sculpture Park?
- Would you enjoy a visit to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park?
- Would your kids like the art there?
- Which sculpture do you think your family would like best?
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My family would love this! That spider reminds me of a sculpture at Crystal Bridges in Bentonville, Arkansas. I like how the sculptures are so big you can really interact with them!