CEDAR FALLS -- Come July it will be time to climb aboard the Artrain in Cedar Falls.

The Hearst Center for the Arts and John Deere Community Credit Union are inviting everyone to climb into this traveling art exhibit to take in some Native American art.

The train had been running since 1971 from its base in Ann Arbor, Mich. This summer, it will include five cars and a caboose.

Plans call for having the train parked on a track at Cedar Falls Utilities, just off Waterloo Road. The exhibit will be in Cedar Falls from July 15-18.

The train picks up different exhibits year by year. It last stopped in Iowa in 1974 for a bicentennial exhibit.

Cedar Falls Cultural Services Manager Mary Huber remembers touring the art train in Charles City that year.

"It was very exciting for the people of Charles City to have this exhibit come in on rails," Huber said.

The exhibit is known for displaying first rate art. As a bonus, it captures Americans' fascination with transportation, as the rolling gallery stops in cities across the county.

The exhibit depends on railroad companies across the country to use the tracks and get from one place to another.

This summer's exhibit will feature Native American art as it once was and even moreso, how it is now.

"That's kind of the point of the exhibit is showing how art evolved and will continue to evolve," Huber said. "It takes us through the process to show what we have today."

The exhibit is titled Native Views. It will feature more than 70 contemporary artworks by 54 living Native American artists. Artrain staff say the exhibition explores the ways Native American artists are influenced by popular culture. They hope it will offer Americans a chance to consider different insights into contemporary society.

The exhibit will be free, courtesy of John Deere Community Credit Union. The credit union chipped in $15,000 to sponsor the event.

JDCCU assistant manager of public relations Eric Kinman said the Artrain exhibit was a nice fit for his organization.

"The credit union wanted to sponsor an event that would be good for the public, but particularly for the youth of the area," Kinman said.

He noted Iowa owes a lot to its Native American ancestors.

"It covers something that is very important to our area, but not covered a lot," Kinman said.

Some times will be set aside for hosting groups from school children all the way up to senior citizens. Other times, primarily evening and weekends, will be open for the general public.

Huber is looking for volunteers to help run the show. She needs 36 volunteers to help conduct tours. Volunteers will be trained by Artrain staff and handle small sections of the exhibit. Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Huber at 268-5500.

More information about the Artrain and exhibit are available online at www.artrainusa.org.