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!

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!

This museum was a real fantastic look into the life and culture of the Lakota Sioux Indians of…read moreSouth Dakota. The museum contains many interesting items and clothing of the Sioux. The beaded woman's dresses are worth the visit alone. One can also find an exhibit of children's moccasins. The museum could easily charge $5-10 for an entrance fee. The gift shop is an excellent place to shop for Indian Souvenirs and is well stocked with a lot of variety from arrows, to jewelry and more. I drove about 900 miles just for this museum and would recommend it to anyone interested in this Indian culture lifestyle.

Beautiful museum with tons of information. We could have spent much more time here than we had…read moretime for. No cost to get in but donations accepted. The quilts were some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. Would love to go back sometime. So much more to learn. The people who worked there went over and above to show us things we might not have otherwise seen and very friendly. June 26, 2025

This place is amazing. The kids had a blast building a log cabin they could actually go into with a…read moregiant Lincoln log set. They also enjoyed the human kladioscope and huge bubbles. The place was clean and the employees were helpful and friendly. Highly recommend!

From the owner: The South Dakota Discovery Center is dedicated to empowering all Peoples of the Great Plains…read morethrough hands-on experiences that inspire scientific thinking, to create a society of curious, scientifically literate, and engaged problem solvers. Hands-on science center featuring over 60 exhibits. Discovery Town - kids enjoying roleplaying and learning science and math in the Growing Up Garden Center, Paws & Claws Vet Clinic and Rainbow Café. Discovery Worlds beyond our reach with nanotechnology and sun, earth universe, climb our indoor tree house, and much more!

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.

Pretty cool little roadside attraction. Impressive mineral collection, and large educational…read morepetrified wood exhibit outside. The admission price and prices in the gift shop are reasonable and there was plenty to impress and educate a wide range of ages.

Surprising stop! Very interesting stuff and great if you are a "rock hound"! Lots of petrified…read moretrees and minerals you can go through and pick out your favorites.

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.)