The World Food Prize Hall of Laureates

As I entered what used to be the downtown library of Des Moines now the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates for a tour of the building I was over taken by the beauty of the impressive Rotunda, which is just the first piece of the puzzle that tells several stories of the history of not only the building but the history of agriculture through the eyes of the people who’s passion has giving the world more quantity and quality food every year! The rotunda has the original stain glass windows that contains 10,000 individual pieces of glass! During the renovation process of the building, each piece was inspected, cleaned, and polished and it looks amazing!
The star of the building is definitely Dr. Norman Borlaug’s life and work! He is an Iowa Native and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for a lifetime of work to feed a hungry world. Although a scientist with outstanding contributions, perhaps Dr. Borlaug’s greatest achievement has been his unending struggle to integrate the various streams of agricultural research into viable technologies and to convince political leaders to bring these advances to fruition. He is also the founder of the World Food Prize!
Whether it’s the sculptures depicting the four main crops involved in feeding the world, or the four lunette murals depicting for scenes that trace Dr. Borlaug’s life and work around the globe the building is so beautiful and inspiring to be in!
I found out you can rent the entire building for weddings, business meetings, or any type of event you are looking to impress folks at! They have multiple ballrooms, gallery spaces, immaculate gardens, and a view over looking the Des Moines river facing the capital! Not too shabby!
Here is a lowdown on some of the rooms available!
Borlaug Ballroom — This beautiful large ballroom honors Dr. Borlaug, and features hidden projection screens and beautiful art!
Ruan Laureate Room — Is kinda like walking into the Baseball Hall of Fame plaque room but for World Food Prize Winners.
The Iowa Gallery — Is a cool smaller gallery space that features Iowa Artist depicting scene in the history of agriculture and food, telling wonderful stories including one where pigs were flown to Japan (pigs do fly) and Gandhi writing George Washington Carver about a what he should eat to survive! So cool and educational
The Mural Room — was so cool, it houses a 360 degree mural thats 1,901 square feet, its the original mural about the history of Des Moines painted from 1937 to 1941 for the downtown library! It’s been restored and is so weird and awesome!
They have a gallery of photography from around the world by Warren Buffett’s son who is a farmer, philanthropist, and amazing photographer who has helped build infrastructure for faming around the world and has photographed the struggles and glories around it.
The Gardens — Are incredible and I have walked through them so many times in the summer enjoying the flowers and sculptures!
Another rad thing about the building is that it is one of the 10 historic buildings in the country that is LEED certified, which means the building is completely GREEN! Using solar panels for electricity, an 8,000 gallon cistern that collects storm water run-​off and provides water for the gardens, and so much more!
The newest and maybe the coolest aspect of the building is the interactive educational exhibits that take you through the history of feeding the world! I learned how coffee was discovered and lets just say, I want to thank that goat for eating those berries and getting excited, cause I love my coffee!
I highly recommend taking a tour of the building, you will learn a lot and will be inspired by the beauty of the building.
The public hours are Tuesday 9am — 1pm and Saturday 9am –1pm! But you can call for a private tour, or to host an event at any time!
This is truly a landmark in not only Des Moines, but the world! And we have it right here in downtown DSM! I hope people take the opportunity to go and check it out! Because it truly is amazing!

What a great venue to showcase our state and the great presence and history we have in agriculture and feeding the world!