[2] The Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences was formed in 1867 by prominent collectors and community members in the Quad Cities.

[4] In 1997, the museum began losing money on operations and started to use its endowment to make up the shortfall.

[1] In 2002, the museum opened an IMAX theater[5] at a cost of $14.5 million for which the board of directors took out a loan.

Mark Bawden became the interim director and raised enough funds by April 2007 to retire the IMAX debt.

[11] In January 2021, the Putnam joined Museums for All offering discounted admission for households receiving assistance by presenting their EBT card.

[13] Shortly after, the Putnam Museum announced a new extension of hours and the beginning of a large construction project.

Black Earth, Big River is an exploration of the past and present habitats of the Quad-Cities region.

The exhibit features a 718-gallon aquarium[15] filled with river fish, a walk-through cave, and a huge oak tree.