8 Best Museums In South Dakota
People visit South Dakota for different reasons. Some want to see Mount Rushmore or the Crazy Horse Memorial, while others want to explore the Badlands. Visitors who love wild animals travel to the state to watch thousands of Bison roaming free in Custer State Park. Others make the most of South Dakota's natural landscapes by going hiking, visiting caves, and learning more about ancient fossils.
The state also boasts more than 70 museums, each offering an incredible glimpse into the past. These museums include science, history, and art museums where visitors can learn about South Dakota’s past struggles, victories, and achievements. These museums connect today’s generation to the past using historical objects and information. If you want to broaden your historical and cultural perspective while visiting South Dakota, the following museums are an excellent place to start.
South Dakota Air And Space Museum
The South Dakota Air and Space Museum is located outside the main gate of Ellsworth Air Force Base in Box Elder. Inside the museum, you will find extensive exhibits and galleries depicting the history of aerospace technology and aviation pioneers. You will also learn more about both World Wars and the Cold War. Outside, you can stroll past more than 30 vintage military aircraft. Some of these planes date back to World War II. In addition to real planes, helicopters, rockets, and jets, there are also a variety of prop planes on display.
Give yourself a few hours to tour this museum, as there is a lot to see and experience. When you’re done, you can head over to the nearby Kang San restaurant for an authentic Korean or Japanese lunch. There is also a Get Air Trampoline Park for the kids, where they can play dodgeball or enjoy the indoor trampoline jump area. The trampoline park is around 6 miles from the Air Force base.
The Journey Museum
The prairies and Black Hills of South Dakota draw millions of visitors every year. The Journey Museum, located in Rapid City, tells the story of these landscapes, including the people who once inhabited them. The museum is aptly named as it takes you on a journey back in time to events that happened around 252 million years ago. You will start in the Star Room, where the night sky is simulated overhead. Then, you move on to the dinosaurs that roamed South Dakota during the Mesozoic Era. The dinosaur part of the journey comes with fun activities for families, such as digging for dinosaur bones or creating an erupting volcano.
From here, you move on to a discussion on the Earth’s crust, and you will see the more than 25 layers that make up the Black Hills. You will learn about the people who lived in the area, the Clovis. They hunted mammoths and left their legacy behind in magnificent rock art. Other parts of the museum tour include learning about the Sioux Indian people and their art, specifically the Lakota. There is also a section on the first pioneers and how the state developed over time. You can head to the Badlands National Park after your museum visit to see the prairie grasslands and rock formations for yourself. And, make some time to see the iconic Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Keep in mind, these two attractions are around 75 miles apart, so plan your time well.
Historic Adams House
The Historic Adams House in Deadwood is another must-visit museum. It is the oldest history museum in the Black Hills region and is open year-round. The house stands at 22 Van Buren Avenue and was built by Deadwood pioneers Harris and Anna Franklin in 1892. It features Queen Anne-style architecture and remains furnished with the original furniture used by W.E. Adams, who bought the house in 1920.
Considering the long history of the Historic Adams House, it is no surprise that the executive director of Deadwood History, Mary Kopco, once contacted the Black Hills Paranormal Investigations Team. Kopco told the team that staff and guests at the museum were experiencing paranormal activity. Kopco also stated that she saw the apparition of a tall, thin man pacing in front of a window. So, if you are interested in learning the history of the house and more about the ghosts who roam in it, book your trip today. At the end of your tour, stop by Lou Lou’s Bombdiggity’s for excellent coffee and pastries, or savor the dipped chocolates on offer at the Chubby Chipmunk.
National Music Museum
If you are an avid music enthusiast, you will enjoy the National Music Museum in Vermillion. The museum was established on the grounds of the University of South Dakota in 1973 and is home to a collection of musical instrument treasures. The museum also holds the world's oldest playable harpsichord. It is believed that the harpsichord was made in Naples around 1530. There are several collections to admire, including electric and electronic, mechanical, brass, folk, percussion, plucked strings, and woodwinds. These collections span five centuries and cover several cultures worldwide.
Instruments to look out for include the grand piano by Louis Bas, 1781. The laboratory also contains 1,000 brass instrument mouthpieces, tuning hammers, Baroque fittings, and a specialized library. Round out your visit to Vermillion with a trip to South Dakota’s oldest winery, Valiant Vineyards Winery and Distillery. Or head over to Main Street Pub for great comfort food.
Lemmon Petrified Wood Park & Museum
In Lemmon, you’ll find a roadside attraction that doubles as a park and a museum. The park features outdoor sculptures crafted from Mesozoic petrified wood, and the museum is constructed from the same wood. Inside the museum are small collections of fossils. There is even a petrified wood castle and lots of dinosaur and mammoth bones on display. As you stroll through the park, you’ll find a wishing well and a waterfall among the petrified logs. Several antiques and artifacts on display are from the local Lemmon area.
This museum and visitor center is only open during the summer months, and entry is free. The park features a gift shop where you can purchase souvenirs, open year-round. For a great meal after your museum visit, R Bar offers a variety of seafood, pasta, and excellent steaks. For something a little lighter, try Alaska Café for cookies, pies, and soups.
The Mammoth Site
If you want an interactive museum experience for the whole family, The Mammoth Site is the place to be. This active dig site and museum in Hot Springs takes you back in time by allowing you to walk around the sinkhole where more than 60 mammoths were trapped more than 140,000 years ago. During dig season, paleontologists descend on this site to unearth the mammoth bones. You can also watch as the fossils are curated at the mammoth research facility, the largest of its kind in the world.
While walking around the site, you can listen to an app using headphones as you pass the bonebed. The museum also offers an Ice Age Explorers Program that allows participants to excavate, preserve, and screen wash sediments. End your museum visit with bistro sandwiches and handmade ice cream at Two Cows Creamery and Bistro. Or you can enjoy the many slides, hot tubs, or sauna at Evans Plunge, which is the oldest tourist attraction in the Black Hills.
SculptureWalk
South Dakota is not all about prehistoric fossils and history museums. It also offers you the chance to experience the largest annual exhibition of public sculptures in the world, located in Sioux Falls. SculptureWalk is an outdoor exhibition with ever-changing sculptures for visitors to admire. In 2025, 80 new sculptures were added to SculptureWalk, and these can be seen throughout downtown Sioux Falls. Seven of the sculptures stand in the Cathedral Historic District. Sculptures to look out for include the Four Seasons, Cagey Birds, American Bison, Woven in the Wind, and The Beginning.
SculptureWalk also owns the Arc of Dreams. This stainless-steel arc bridges the Big Sioux River between 6th and 8th streets and is the length of a football field. In the middle of the arc, there is a 15-foot gap above the water, which represents the ‘leap of faith’ those with big dreams must take to secure their future. Other must-do experiences in Sioux Falls include visiting Falls Park with its 360-degree observation tower and the Butterfly House and Aquarium, where you will find more than 800 butterflies and twelve aquariums filled with marine life.
Dakota Sunset Museum
For a truly immersive museum journey, don’t miss out on the Dakota Sunset Museum experience. The museum, located in Gettysburg, is centered around the sacred 40-ton Medicine Rock. The rock was originally located near the Missouri River but was relocated to Gettysburg in 1953 to protect it from flooding. This extraordinary boulder features ancient human footprints and a handprint that is sacred to the Lakota people.
Additionally, the museum celebrates an integral piece of American history - a Civil War exhibit honoring the more than 200 veteran homesteaders who migrated to Potter County during the 1880s. The display also includes an authentic cannon from the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Furthermore, there are several 19th- and 20th-century relics on display, including a 1870s Native American blanket dress and a one-room country schoolhouse. If you are interested in tracing South Dakota family history, the museum also holds more than 15,000 Potter County obituaries. You can easily spend half a day at the Dakota Sunset Museum, after which you can have a lazy lunch at Mugs Bar and Grill. Or try Bob’s Steakhouse for a perfectly cooked steak dinner.
When you visit South Dakota, you will find that the museum options here are far more than just your average collection of artifacts. They offer you a chance to get to know the state’s history and culture in detail. So, when you plan your next road trip or vacation, make some time to experience South Dakota’s various galleries, collections, and exhibitions. At the end of your visit, you will have a deeper understanding (and appreciation) for the people and events that shaped the state into what it is today.
