The SIMCODES REU takes place at Iowa State University (ISU) located in Ames, IA. This page provides essential details about Ames and the surrounding areas.

Getting to Ames

If you are flying, the closest commercial airport is the Des Moines Airport, DSM (https://www.flydsm.com/). It is about a 40-minute taxi, Uber, or Lyft ride from DSM to ISU. We encourage you to send us your itinerary ahead of time, and we will see if we can arrange a ride for you.

If you are driving know that parking is plentiful throughout Ames. Most parking in Ames is free, though there are meters downtown (they’re quite cheap though). If you are driving we will ensure that you have a parking space at the dorms. The cost of parking will be picked up by SIMCODES.

Things to do in and around Ames (besides research)

Contrary to popular belief, there are things to do in Iowa besides pick corn (you’ll be leaving before it’s ready to pick, so hopefully, you don’t have your hopes set on picking corn). Ames is a typical college town and has a number of bars and restaurants.

Stephens Auditorium
- Has a wide range of shows that may interest you.
Downtown Ames
- Often has events during the summer.
- Shops, restaurants, and bars that cater to a wide range of interests.
Memorial Union.
- Bowling and Billiards.
- The Workspace. Craft studio offering drop-in crafts.
Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
- Ada Hayden
  - Popular in-Ames choice for walking, biking, jogging, and canoe/kayaking.
- Ledges.
  - Fairly close to Ames and quite spectacular hikes.
Des Moines.
- Largest city in Iowa, has a number of events all year.
- Des Moines Zoo.
- Des Moines Art Center.
- Des Moines Botanical Garden.

Getting Around Ames

The city of Ames relies on CyRide for public transportation. You’ll find that the majority of people on the CyRide busses are ISU students or visiting students like yourselves. CyRide’s routes have excellent coverage of the ISU campus and decent coverage of places where you may want to shop for supplies, e.g., Target, Walmart, Hy-Vee, and Fairway (the latter two are our grocery stores).

Generally, speaking most people either take CyRide or drive around Ames. It is hoped that cohort members that drive to Ames will be willing to provide rides to cohort members that fly. However, if you find yourself unable to find a ride, consider reaching out to other members of your mentor’s group. Additionally, graduate students in the PI’s and Co-PI’s research group are usually willing to provide rides if need be.

Extracurricular Activities

We know that moving to a new city for a summer program is intimidating. To that end, the SIMCODES team will try to host a few extracurricular get togethers throughout the summer.

Examples include:

Pizza and board game night.
Fireworks around the July 4.
Escape room.