I actually wasn't able to make it into this gem given my road-trip timeline, however I want to make…read moresure it ends up on Yelp because it looks awesome! For sure if you find yourself in the almost-middle-of-nowhere South Dakota, and you enjoy enriching your history lessons then make it to this place over the Wall-Drug aways down. (Tho Wall-Drug has a ton of historical photos) It's probably against Yelp policy for me to post another review here, so just search for a review on the "Virtual Tourist". There are many rooms and lots of artifacts-- all for a town of pop. 700! Note it's a town near the Indian Reservation. That the museum is only open from 6-8pm a few days a week. And also check out the missiles nearby.

What a treat to see so many classic cars and for sale for the right price. third generation owned…read more they have more than just cars there. They have old back in the day buildings, caboose you can walk into, TVs, radios, motors, tractors, games and more all from back in the day too much to name all. It was a fun little stop, wait its not little 43 bldgs.o e of Dale Earnhardt's cars, the Dukes of Hazzard car a car made out of wood a two headed calf a train station/bus station?

This place is huge! You can spend a couple of hours walking through all the expansions.read more

Interesting place to see!…read more Sure brought back memories as a young child being told to duck under my school desk and close my eyes in case of nuclear explosion. That's right we had nuclear explosion drills in grade school grown up. I use to come home and tell mom and dad about our drills at school and dad would just laugh. He witnessed 3 atomic blasts, one of them was the hydrogen blast and another was the big bikini atoll blast. He understood that ducking under your desk, ain't gonna do squat if a bomb goes off nearby. This museum is a must go to site to see when American was battling the Russians during the Cold War Era. Excellent place to see a different part of American history! I hope to be back soon!

This review is for the missile silo, as there's another listing on Yelp for the visitor center. I…read morevisited the Delta-09 missile silo complex as I couldn't get in on the tour for the Delta-01 Launch Control Facility (which is limited to 6 participants). There's a small unpaved section of the road to get to the parking lot, and cattle also graze here. The juxtaposition makes for an odd sight, but it was also the reality when the missiles were in operation! There's a small covered area next to the parking lot which has information about the missile, and then a cell phone tour for the parts of the missile. Unfortunately it was very windy so I couldn't hear that well over the wind. It was very cool to peer down the viewing enclosure to look at the deactivated training missile in the launch tube!

I started reading the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee before starting this trip. When we…read moreapproached Wall, SD, I saw signs for Wounded Knee The Museum nearby. So when we made our scheduled stop at Wall Drug, we decided to also stop here. We initially went too their temporary location following our GPS where they were while their permanent location was restored after a fire. Then we got directions to their actual location. It's not very large but there are many exhibits and a short film so you can spend under an hour to several hours depending on your schedule and level of interest. They also have a number of interesting items in their Gift Shop including books and shirts. Admission to Wounded Knee The Museum is $6 and they have a senior discount to $5.

Wounded Knee Museum (Wall): Very touching...makes you…read morerealize what the Native Americans went through and are still going through today. It was all reading - (no movies, tour, etc.) which was very well done. My kids were SO bored, though - they are just too young to do all of that reading and really didn't get anything out of it. More for teenagers/adults.

This was a great little find on our way through South Dakota. A really nice collection of military…read moreitems from WWI through today. Includes uniforms, weapons, photos and actual vehicles, Friendly service. Nice gift shop attached with military items, movies and toys. Priced at $4 for adults, free for children under 10.

Yea, tell Tom I will be looking into the South Dakota towing laws. And more than likely they were…read morenot followed. So way to look like a dumbass Tom. And your attitude handling it was piss poor. Not impressed with you one bit. You will be hearing from me sooner than later bud.

Very interesting and comprehensive history of the Minuteman program with interactive exhibits and…read morememorabilia from launch sites. It doesn't appear to be an actual decommissioned launch site, so don't go into this expecting to see a big hole in the ground.

+ Nice free war history museum (and show). + Good amount of…read moreparking, - but no shade in that windy desert heat. + Restrooms and water bottle refill station. + Nice, helpful staff. - Crowded inside. . Popular place for schoolchildren's field trips. - While I was using the men's restroom, the boys turned off the light. I didn't like that.

On the way out of Mount Rushmore and heading down towards Keystone, you'll find this historical…read moremarker installed by the State of South Dakota and in memory of the man who carved the start of the famous Mount Rushmore National Monument. And if you frame it right, you can get a picture of the monument with the historical marker, which reads: "His birthplace was Idaho. California first taught him art. Then France, who first gave him fame. England welcomed him. America called him home. His genius for the exquisite as for the colossal gave permanence on canvas, in bronze, in marble, to moods of beauty or passion, to figures of legend and history. Nations, cities, colleges paid him tribute. As a patriot he stripped corruption bare. As a statesman he toiled for equality in the rights of man. At last he carved a mountain for a monument. He made the monument chant: 'Remember! These giant souls set America free and kept her free. Hold fast your sacred heritage, Americans! Remember! Remember!' The first actual carving was begun in 1927. The Washington head was dedicated in 1931, representing the founding of our government; the Jefferson in 1936 for the man who made our first great expansion west with the Louisiana Purchase; Lincoln in 1937 for his preservation of the Union; the final head, Roosevelt, in 1939, for the completion of the Panama Canal. Borglum said, 'I want somewhere in America a memory of the great things we accomplished as a nation, placed so high it won't pay to pull it down for lesser purposes.' The project was nearly completed in 1941 when Borglum died. Mount Rushmore was completed by his son Lincoln with the final drilling done October 31, 1941." There are spots on both sides of the highway where you can stop, but watch the traffic if you decide to cross! UPDATE: This is Yelp hamsters at work. This was originally the Gutzon Borglum Historical Marker in Keystone, SD. So let's move it to Pierre, Yelp?

The SD Cultural Heritage Center is a wonderful facility. The museum exhibits are interesting. The…read morecurrent exhibit deals with the minuteman missiles which formed such an interesting part of state history. The museum has additional activities for the kids. The online presence of the CHC is also excellent. I particularly like the old pictures and postcards which have been scanned and placed online. Wonderful!

The Heritage Center is an amazing hole-in-the-wall Native American fine arts gallery, museum,…read morecultural center and gift shop located in the historic mission building on the campus of Red Cloud Indian School. The Center hosts The Red Cloud Indian Art Show, an annual nationally-recognized fine arts exhibition with a wide variety of pieces from emerging and seasoned Native American artists. The show really falls in line with the other greats like Santa Fe Indian Arts Market, Heard Arts Market, Eiteljorg, and others - you won't be disappointed. It always takes place from early June through early August. The authenticity of the work, art show, and items in the gift shop are outstanding. Being part of the 125+ year old Red Cloud Indian School - named for the famous Oglala Lakota war chief whose grave sits on a hill overlooking the Center - The Heritage Center is part of their nonprofit. This means that the price you pay for gifts goes to support local artist initiatives, art programs for youth, and to support the school system directly - which boasts some amazing statistics for their Lakota students. And with all this, admission is FREE - a huge bonus for me! (but donations are welcome to support the cause). PRO TIP: ask for a free tour and if you're lucky (and you ask) they might show you the back room where they store their massive 10,000 piece historic collection with items from the early 1800's though present day. They told me they recently sent pieces off to The National Museum of the American Indian!! Full disclosure - I do work with people who work there and they've totally won me over - but I'm sure if you visit, they'll win you over too!

Worked next door for years. Truly a great location. They have Sicangu Winter Counts on display…read more One time they even displayed Johnny Cash's guitar from when he played the old Veteran's Gym back in the seventies. You want beadwork and quillwork from local craftsmen? Fine quality work at dirt cheap prices. Quilled Medicine Wheels for $15.00. Used to take my students there every year even though it is closed during the fall and winter. If you are ever on Rosebud be sure to visit. Wopilla!

This museum is smaller than many other Indian heritage museums, but each piece is beautifully…read moreselected, displayed, and explained. Most of the artifacts are nineteenth-century Lakota. The quill- and beadwork is breathtaking. War shirts and other effects of Crazy Horse are on display. A small collection of early twentieth-century artifacts connected with the work of the Jesuit-run mission is also on display. For more serious visitors there is a large collection of photographs antedating World War II made by Fr. Buechel, after whom the museum is named, and which do a remarkable job documenting reservation life a century ago. St. Francis is a bit of a jog off US-18 and forty miles up from Valentine, NE. For those interested in the Rosebud Sioux or very interested in American Indian life in general, it's definitely worth a visit. Together with the stunning church of Saint Charles Borromeo, the trip is worth it for a more general visitor. (The church is open for services on Sunday and on Wednesday evenings; the museum is open during the work day between Memorial Day and Labor Day, otherwise an advance call is necessary. But once you're there, the folks are so pleasant, I suspect you could talk your way into seeing everything.)