Orange stripe dividing navy blue background. Navy blue text centered on orange stripe.

Although the exact date of manufacture remains unclear, this University of Illinois button would have been proudly worn by any 'Fighting Illini' fan. The characteristic blue 'Illinois' text overlaid on orange is an unmistakable mark of the storied and historic university.

White image of the state of Michigan in the center. Red text surrounding the image on blue background.

This tourist souvenir urges visitors to associate 'progress' with Michigan whenever they reminisce of their vacation or think of the state. 

Illustration of a black-outlined crescent moon with a black-silhouetted female reclining on the moon with her leg held up in the air. Black text encircles illustration on yellow background. 

Applause is an American musical based on the 1950 film All About Eve and the short story “The Wisdom of Eve” that the movie had originally been inspired by. Charles Strouse was the composer and Lee Adams was the lyricist; these two had collaborated previously on Bye Bye Birdie. The production opened on Broadway on March 30, 1970 at the Palace Theatre. The show ran for two years and four months with 896 performances in total. The original cast included Lauren Bacall and was directed and choreographed by Ron Field. The production not only won the Tony Award for Best Musical but Lauren Bacall also won a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. The musical also won Tony’s for Best Direction of a Musical and Best Choreography. The plot of the musical centers on an aging musical star named Margo and a rising star Eve. There is also love and loss as Margo has to grapple with the reality that she is not getting younger and that Eve is up and coming. 

Black and white illustration of a town with a smoke stack in the center. Black text surrounding the illustration on white background. 

A religious commune based in Iowa, the Amana Colony was founded in 1854 by the Community of True Inspiration. They came to America from Germany in the mid-19th century to escape persecution and economic depression. Doctrinally, they believe that God, through the Holy Spirit, can inspire individuals to speak on His behalf. Although they initially settled in Buffalo, New York, they found a promising spot to settle along the Iowa River a decade later. Since the second half of the 20th century, the the community has been increasingly known for its high quality craftsmanship and consumer goods. The colony was declared a 'National Historic Site' in 1965.

Illustration of the Space Needle. Red text and black text running diagonally across the Space Needle on white background. 

The Space Needle was built in 1962 for $4.5 million dollars, and took 13 months to complete.  Over 2.3 million people visited the Space Needle during the 1962 World's Fair. Today it welcomes over 1 million visitors per year.

Illustration of a cardinal perched on a dogwood tree branch with white flowers.  Black text against a white background encircles the illustration.  White text in a red heart is set below the cardinal.

“Virginia is for Lovers” is the tourism and travel slogan for the state used since 1969.  The cardinal is the state bird, and the state tree and flower are the dogwood. 

VFW stands for “Veterans of Foreign Wars.”  This organization has roots tracing back to 1899, when veterans of the Spanish-American War arrived home sick or wounded.  There was no medical care or pension for them, so they were left to care for themselves.  Some of these veterans banded together to secure rights and benefits, and by 1936, the group had grown to almost 200,000 members.  Since then, the VFW has made many achievements on behalf of veterans.

Red, white, and blue illustration of a two-tier cake that reads "Happy Birthday" in red cursive. Blue text runs both vertically and horizontally around the cake on white background. 

Buffalo, New York celebrated its Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) on June 6, 1982. Following the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, which led to increased commerce and population, the city was incorporated in 1832. At the time, Buffalo's population was around 9,000, which surged to 81,000 by 1850. Commemorative items from the Sesquicentennial celebration included mugs, plates, buttons and souvenir programs. A granite time capsule was carved with an image of a buffalo and engraved with the inscription "Sesquicentennial Time Capsule, 1832 - 1982" on the front and back. The time capsule is sealed and permanently located in downtown Buffalo in front of the City Court Building. 

The number "84" set off-center in white text against a blue, circular background bordered in gray.  Underneath "84" is a white and gray wavelike design.  Surrounding this logo, on the rim of the button, is a white background with black text.

The "world’s fair" was a large international exhibition of a wide variety of industrial, scientific, and cultural items that are on display at a specific site for a period of time, ranging usually from three to six months. Since 1970, the world's fair has been themed, often environmental in nature, rather than a celebration of a historical anniversary or a colonial empire like the earlier fairs. Many of these modern themed world's fair were shorter festivals held in smaller cities compared to Paris, New York, Chicago, and other headliners of the early 20th century. The 1984 fair was held in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Louisiana World Exposition's theme was "The World of Rivers—Fresh Waters as a Source of Life." The expo was plagued with attendance problems and subsequently gained the dubious distinction of being the only exposition to declare bankruptcy during its run.

The bankruptcy and bad publicity of the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair would lead to a three decade pull back of the United States from the World's Fair landscape, with subsequent withdrawal from the Bureau of International Expositions. Although New Orleans was a success from an exhibit standpoint, unrealistic attendance estimates made the fair as a whole a failure with a low attendance of seven million. The previous world fair held in Knoxville, Tennessee drew in eleven million.

Illustration of a man playing a red accordion and reading sheet music.  The man is clad in stereotypical German Oktoberfest clothing with short grey shorts, brown vest over a white shirt, a triangular grey hat, and knee-high brown socks. Thin green line runs around the border of the button. Red text, black text, and green text on white background. 

A souvenir from the 1982 Kitchener-Warterloo Oktoberfest, the button pictured above features Onkel Hans, a portly German man with a felt hat and lederhosen who is the mascot of the festival. The nine day annual festival takes place in the twin cities of Kichener-Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The festival currently attracts an estimated 750,000 to 1,000,000 visitors each year.

Four green interlocking ovals set against a brown circle which sits inside a mustard-yellow square in the center of the button.  The number "11" is repeated in black on each side of the square.Black text printed around the border of the button on yellow background. 

This button was created for the purpose of advertising the 2011 imperatives for the Department of Education of Iowa. It’s based on sharing the current level of academic achievement in Iowa and ideas on how to improve it. Various reports were released; one such report that was released centered on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education plan. It introduced a new framework called “Response to Intervention” that it hoped to use to advance the education system in Iowa.