The Des Moines Lyceum has been a tradition in the city since 1851, when early residents created a place to get together and discuss big ideas and hear from the best and brightest thinkers, leaders, and doers. This was a part of a national movement of Lyceums that hosted speakers like Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and Mark Twain.

Today, the Des Moines Lyceum carries on that tradition by bringing the best national and local leaders and thinkers into dialogue with the city, and by creating a space for neighbors to ask the big, human questions we never get a chance to ask. The Lyceum is a place to learn, think, and talk about big ideas with neighbors and friends. It's a place to become excellent and to make our city excellent.

Philosophy. Sicence. Art. History. Beer. And the Common Good

Join us.