Interesting place to see! 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! read more

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This review is for the missile silo, as there's another listing on Yelp for the visitor center. I visited 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! read more

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Do you like intercontinental ballistic missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear warheads around the world on short notice? If so, and if you happen to be in the middle of nowhere South Dakota then definitely check this place out. It's free. It's got lots of parking. And it's casting a strange vibe that you don't just find anywhere. A true monument to the cold warmongering that informed the perspective of an entire generation. Wild. Stop and check it out. read more

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This small and modern museum sits at the Cactus Flat exit on I-90 on the north side. The only other entity that I could see is a Conoco gas station on the other side of the interstate. The museum has its own parking lot and doesn't charge any admission fee but they do have a donation box and is run by the National Park Service. Inside the foyer is the information desk manned by Park Rangers and a very small gift shop too. Another important point to remember is that there are no food or drink concessions here. The museum has a separate room that can be used for meetings (probably seats 75 people) and usually used to show a 25 minute movie about the missileers who manned the ICBM silos in the US including some very close to this site. Also in the museum is a self guided tour that reviews the history of the ballistic missile program in both here and the old USSR. This tour also shows how the missiles work and their destructive force. The tour takes about 15 minutes to go through at your own pace and is enclosed in the museum. Separate from this location are two old missile sites that are available for visits. They are located between the museum and Wall, SD about 20 miles to the west. Both sites are very close to interstate exits so they are easy to get to. One site requires an appointment for a ranger led tour that is only given during the summer. The other site allows visits during opening hours with a cell phone guided tour that allows you to walk up to the silo and look in through glass windows but not enter it. If you are going east to west stop at the museum first. If going west to east you can stop at the old silo sites first before coming to the museum. I was not able to visit either site due to the weather that day. On the day of my weekday visit last week, the museum was busy with visitors. This museum is in the middle of nowhere yet still draws a crowd due to its proximity to I-90, content subject and free admission. Also this interstate exit is one of the primary ways to go to the nearby Badlands National Park about 10 minutes to the south. Budget anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending if you see the movie. This museum is worth your time to visit. read more

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Not to be missed history lesson on the Cold War. Displays and a short movie reminds us of how close we came to engaging in the destruction of the world. I remember the duck and cover drills in grade school when we had to get under our desks, which was the only advise the government could give unless you happened to have a bomb shelter nearby. A gift shop with books and souvenirs, plus knowledgeable national park rangers are on hand to answer your questions. This exhibit is free, and the arms race is still in full swing. read more

What can you say about bringing your kids to a Nuclear Launch Facility on vacation! A great memorial for all those USAF personnel that worked ICBMs. Worth a stop, and good history lesson for the kids. read more

Minuteman Missile - Museums Near Me - Philip, South Dakota

I wasn't able to check in, as I basically have had no cell service for 4 days. Seeing this National Historic Site, sure brought back a lot of memories of the Cold War. They did a fantastic job on showing what happened, as well as what could have happened. Well worth the trip down memory lane for this bit of History read more

This place really surprised me by how interesting it was. I learned a little bit about the Cold War and just watching the 25 minute movie, I was summed up on everything on it. The place is pretty interesting and has a lot of retro stuff from the Cold War. The whole family found it really interesting and I would come back if I am in the area. read more

This was a great learning experience. My son is a huge military history buff. Of all the National Parks and National Monuments we saw for two straight weeks this was his favorite. Make sure you take the time to watch their movie. There is a ton of things you can learn. Especially about the close calls and false alarms. What did I learn today? While it is small, budget at least 90 minutes for this visit. They even have a Jr. Ranger Program. read more

This is another case where there was a half point option, so I am rounding up here because it is definitely worthwhile. Sitting in the middle of the prarie, the Minuteman Missile silo visitor center is a stop I would encourage everyone to make. The visitor center, exhibits and film are free so you will not be out anything if you do. I found both the exhibits and the film to be very informative and a great historical reference to the cold war years. If you take the time to explore you can better understand the cold war standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. You can get a feeling for the life of the 20 - 21-year-old airman who manned the station and the responsibility they held. In the film, you learn about two close calls that were averted thanks to the judgment of the men and women who served in those roles. There are three sites to this National Historic Site. Buried in the web site you need to find out that tickets for the tour of the launch control are very limited and need to be purchased months in advance, up to 90 days. We found this out way too late and so we were not able to get a tour of the launch site. read more

My wife and I love museums and this small free museum run by the Parks Service is excellent. If you grew up in the 50s-70s and remember the Cold War this is something you won't want to miss (Duck and Cover!). Located directly across I-90 to the north from the main entrance to Badlands National Park to the south; well worth the 45 minutes to an hour needed to explore this monument to something that thankfully never came to pass. read more

Nice place to visit. Excellent visitor center and museum. This place has expanded significantly since I last came here. Big difference from its humble beginnings as a trailer to a full sized center snd museum. The museum has a nice exhibit of the history of nuclear proliferation and cold war. The museum opened just this year in time for the parks 100th anniversary. Check out the photos. Btw. They offer tours a old launch facility and visit to a inert missile silo. Call or visit the website for more information about this. For now enjoy the photos. read more

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We were planning a trip to South Dakota and I enjoy seeing National Park sites. While I'm not particularly interested in the Cold War, I figured going to the Minuteman Missile Site would at least be another stamp in my NPS Passport. It ended up being more than that. First of all, we went to one of the actual missile sites where you can see a missile in a silo underground. There is also a very informative cell phone audio tour you can listen to which is very interesting (though the reception there and some of the numbers were faulty. We had to skip some numbers). You need 15 mins max here. We then headed to the visitor center. It is an excellent center with a very interesting museum area. My dad (who was with us) grew up during the times when children had to practice "ducking and covering" under their desks. It was a big nostalgic trip for him and we really enjoyed learning more. It really is a well done center and it's very informative. We spent about an hour in the actual visitor center and is probably enough. It is very doable to visit here and the Badlands in the same day. And by the way, it's free to visit. read more

Very informative and interesting site. This is a new building, and they are still in the process of mounting their displays, but even so, very interesting and thought provoking. They also show a 10 minute video throughout the day that explains the actual missile site. read more

The new (2014) visitor center is just NORTH of exit 131, not south. Exhibits are fresh and well done. Good tourism info to plan rest of SW SD if this is your first stop coming from east. read more

A great place to visit if you're interested in Cold War history. The exhibits at the visitors center are small for right now - hopefully they will expand. The Facebook page for this site also posts interesting Cold War tidbits and photos. The gift shop sells a rather interesting assortment of Cold War/Nuclear themed stuff - much different than traditional gift shop fare. Didn't get a chance to take the silo tour - hope to come again. read more