This museum tells its story from the beginning, geology, through archaeology, Native American, and European settlement. There is a lot on dinosaurs and archaeology, it is especially hands on for kids. Since we're not that interested in that we spent more time in the Native American and settler area. They have a lot of beautiful plains beadwork and some information on the tribes. The settler area is pretty typical, I can't remember anything very special. They do bring into modern times including the great Rapid City flood in the 20th century. This museum is interesting for adults but I think it would be great for kids interested in digging up fossils.
Our children LOVED this museum. We were there on a slow day and practically had the whole place to ourselves; it was such a neat place that we couldn't imagine why it was empty! Walking through time gave us a great overview of South Dakota history, with a lot of hands-on experiences along the way. Accessibility: Yes, the whole museum is nicely accessible.
This was very good to learn about the Lakota Sioux. Bought several books at the museum. This was our first visit to this museum.
We decided to go to this museum on a rainy morning since we wanted to wait for a better day to see Mt. Rushmore. It was very, very interesting and gave us an in depth history of the area which we were unfamiliar with. Exhibits were very well done. There were a lot of 'hands on' areas for children but since we are all seniors we didn't take advantage of them. But if you're traveling with kids -- this would be a great stop before seeing the 'natural' wonders in the area. Well worth the 3 hrs. we spent there.
I am a local and this was the first time coming to this museum. I brought along my 7 and 5 year old boys on the Smithsonian Free Museum Day!I just loved the displays they had, and the easy to read and understand literature with it. My kids loved digging up bones in their dig pits and looking at all the dinosaur exhibits. The best part of the whole museum is that KIDS CAN TOUCH EVERYTHING!! It is so cool for them and a lot less stressful for parents not having to tell their kids, "Don't touch that!" :) They have a ton of activities that the kids can do along the "route".Only problem was that we only had about 45 minutes until we needed to be somewhere else. So unfortunately we did get to experience all of the artifacts or do any of their movie/info clips in the theaters :( Also, being a local the small exhibit they have for the 1972 flood was great! Need to put more together for it (It is in progress).I would definitely recommend this museum and plan to be back on a day when we have more time.
Archeoastronomy is an understanding of the Lakota people, another knowledge shared with who they call "wischu" that adds to their demise. The use of 'star mapping' is being used today for uranium mining. This element is converted into nuclear energy [some countries source for electricity) but really is another sad, sad story of the rape of our Mother earth."As is above so it is below". . . the reflection of everything on this planet and of the universe. The vortex, in the shape of the hourglass fills with sand to empty below, turning it over and over again...What is life returning? Just like shape of the woman, what things are given birth over time?Knowledge is a dangerous weapon to those who abuse these gifts...That is the Great Mystery of The Great Spirit.
This museum was not originally on my list but while we were in Keystone, we learned it was on a bus tour group's schedule. So we decided to go and glad we did. We arrived 2 hours before closing and didn't have time to visit the entire museum. We were allowed to return the next day and finish. We liked all 4 movies, the displays, and the volunteer docents. Very nice and we learned a lot of local history.
I've been 5 times in the last 15 years and nothing has changed except the dust on the items getting thicker. Mostly it's just a place to show off stuff that belongs to some of the "old" families. Not worth the money, wait till the free days
Went here on rainy day, but worth touring on a sunny day. Lots of history, interesting displays of this area around Rapid City, Black Hills, and Native Americans.
This is a very interesting museum to discover the history of Native Americans, the Black Hills and Rapid City too. There are several hands on exhibits to feel and touch different artifacts which was fun and great for children. I highly recommend this museum for all ages and you can spend as much time as you wish with so much to learn.