Top 6 Science Museums in South Dakota, United States

February 5, 2022 Rosalyn Ihle

South Dakota has good golf courses, skiing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, hiking, and biking among rolling prairies, pine forests, and granite mountain peaks like Mount Rushmore. Glacial lakes and Missouri River reservoir lakes provide great fishing, boating, canoeing, water skiing, and windsurfing. The whole family will enjoy this prairie land where grain growing begat roadside attractions like the Corn Palace in Mitchell. Everything made from corn, even the popcorn, tastes better here. Where buffalo roam, roadside diners serve up buffalo and luscious homemade fruit pies. Shop for good deals on cowboy boots on the same Black Hills and Badland Main Streets where cowboys and cowgirls outfit themselves. Be near the eroded buttes, spires, and prairie grasslands of Badlands National Park in Lead, Deadwood, Rapid City, Spearfish, Sturgis, Hill City, Custer, and other nearby towns. The whole family will enjoy watching for big game like bison, bighorn sheep, antelope, eagles, and hawks. Drive the one-hour Hwy 240 loop road, with a side-trip to Robert's Prairie Dog Town. Learn about the Oglala Sioux Tribe at the White River Visitor Center, which is near Wounded Knee. Tour the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site's Cold War nuclear silos, just outside the Park's boundaries. About 90 minutes west of Badlands National Park is Mount Rushmore. Lead, Deadwood, Rapid City, Spearfish, Sturgis, Hill City, Whitetail Springs, and Custer are also very near Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and Jewel Cave National Monument. View Mount Rushmore from the aerial tramway in Keystone, which also houses the Borglum Historical Center celebrating the artist behind the sculpting of Rushmore. Take the kids to the Dinosaur Park in Rapid City. Attend Custer State Park’s Annual Buffalo Roundup and Arts Festival. Bedazzle the whole family with sparkling calcite crystals in 151-mile long Jewel Cave. Bison, pronghorn, and elk graze the grasslands of Wind Cave National Park. Central South Dakota has the state capitol, Pierre, in addition to numerous lakes along the Missouri River. Go fishing and boating in the rivers and lakes. Take the kids to the South Dakota Discovery Center and Aquarium in Pierre to see the state’s native fish. Drop by the Dacotah Prairie Museum along the James River in Aberdeen in the northeast to learn prairie history and natural history. Swing by Sioux Falls to see the USS South Dakota Battleship Memorial and special exhibits at the Old Courthouse Museum. Choose from among 10 golf courses in Sioux Falls.
Restaurants in South Dakota

1. World Fossil Finder Museum

719 Jensen Hwy, Hot Springs, SD 57747-2469 +1 605-745-5007 [email protected] http://worldfossilfindermuseum.com
Excellent
100%
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5.0 based on 5 reviews

World Fossil Finder Museum

The World Fossil Finder Museum is not your typical fossil museum but a museum with several world wide first fossil discoveries. We are a family friendly museum that wants to inspire and educate children and adults of all ages to enjoy learning about the natural wonders of the world.

Reviewed By Mommiex4plus1 - Jacksonville, United States

We visited the museum after a full day of fossil hunting with Riley and Tim from the museum. They guided us through fossil hunting and actually showed us how to prepare a tortoise shell fossil to bring home to restore. My husband found an oreodont skull and our friend and I found portions of oreodont jaws with teeth, various pieces of bones and as much fossil tortoise shell as we wanted to pick up. We scrambled up and down hills and searched through washes and got a taste of what it is like to search and work on a paleontological site. It was a full active day and we all learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed the experience and the fossils we got to take home. This was a very unique opportunity and I highly recommend for anyone interested in fossil hunting and preparation. You contact the museum to set up the experience. Tim and Riley were superb!

2. Mammoth Site of Hot Springs

1800 U.S. 18 Bypass, Hot Springs, SD 57747 +1 605-745-6017 [email protected] http://www.mammothsite.org/
Excellent
71%
Good
24%
Satisfactory
4%
Poor
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4.5 based on 1,668 reviews

Mammoth Site of Hot Springs

America's International Treasure. This National Natural Landmark is an internationally renowned indoor working paleontological site/museum. More than 60 mammoths have been unearthed, as well as over 85 other species of associated Ice Age fauna. Hands-on activities for children, an educational experience for the entire family. One of the top fossil interpretive sites in North America. Open year-round. Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Reviewed By MNnola - Canby, United States

This museum came about by accident when a developer discovered a mammoth bone with his bulldozer! Thank goodness he recognized the treasure he had unearthed! This is the only accredited museum in the state and still a dig in progress with scientists on site. There is a guided tour that starts with a movie and then moves into an amazing space filled with bones. Our guide was very informative and encouraged questions. There was lots of time for photos and after the guided tour, visitors could roam stay to look more closely at the incredible bones and partial skeletons of the animals that perished in a sinkhole in the distant past. This was a very interesting and informative tour of a place I hope to visit again!

3. Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center

160 Main Street, Lead, SD 57754 +1 605-584-3110 [email protected] http://sanfordlabhomestake.com
Excellent
58%
Good
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Satisfactory
6%
Poor
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4.5 based on 341 reviews

Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center

Perched at the edge of the Open Cut, we offer surface tours (summer only) and guided indoor tours! Come learn about Lead's (pronounced leed) history with the Homestake Mining Company, its present and its future as scientists search for dark matter, neutrinos and other secrets of the universe.

Reviewed By G331POjanb

The best place to start is at the 3D structure/sculpture in the middle of the visitor's center. Hopefully you will find someone who can explain what you're looking at as there is a lot to digest about the mine and the lab. This is history and the future, all in one place! The Homestake Mining Company played an important role in the Black Hills and specifically in Lead. And if you have a family, definitely take the time to hit a "hole in one" into the Open Cut! It's fun and a priceless memory for all ages, even those who are just watching. The science taking place in the underground lab is mind-blowing.

4. Washington Pavilion

301 S Main Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104-6311 +1 605-367-7397 [email protected] http://www.washingtonpavilion.org
Excellent
67%
Good
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Satisfactory
8%
Poor
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4.5 based on 185 reviews

Washington Pavilion

The mission of the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science is to educate, entertain, inspire, and enrich the community by making arts and science part of our lives. Our vision is to be the region’s premier arts and cultural institution and a national model for multifaceted, community-based institutions.The Washington Pavilion is the region’s home for the arts, entertainment and science. Located in a beautifully renovated historic building in downtown Sioux Falls, it is one of only a few facilities in the world to bring together under one roof the performing arts, visual arts, interactive science and educational opportunities.

Reviewed By jarjen27 - Sioux Center, United States

We enjoyed a show here so much it prompted us to purchase tickets for the upcoming Performance Series. It’s a great venue. Also - want to put in a plug for the Science Museum. Our kids really enjoy the various attractions!!

5. W.H. Over Museum

1110 University Street, Vermillion, SD 57069 +1 605-659-6151 http://www.whovermuseum.org/
Excellent
75%
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25%
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4.5 based on 4 reviews

W.H. Over Museum

6. South Dakota Discovery Center

805 W Sioux Ave, Pierre, SD 57501-1858 +1 605-224-8295 http://www.sd-discovery.com/
Excellent
49%
Good
32%
Satisfactory
12%
Poor
7%
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Overall Ratings

4.0 based on 41 reviews

South Dakota Discovery Center

Everyone gets to try things out at this "science playground for the whole family" where "please touch" interactive science and nature exhibits provide a fun and educational experience. The center is housed in a huge converted city power plant and includes aquariums stocked with walleye, gar, trout and other Missouri River fish.

Reviewed By elizabethd386

A must stop if you have kids. Exhibits change, our kids are ages 2-9, they all love to stop whenever we can. Great way to spend an hour or two

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