Museums in Wall South Dakota

There is more to do in Wall, South Dakota, besides visiting Wall Drug and walking in and out of all the shops on Main Street. Wall may be a small town, but the area offers a lot of things to do.

During one rainy day, we visited the National Grasslands Visitor Center in Wall. This is the only visitor center in the country for ALL 20 National Grasslands and and it also represents Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. There is no admission fee to explore the exhibit room (which features interactive displays, Great Plains history, artifacts, and wildlife), watch a 25 minute video (gives an introduction to the creation, history, management, and major attractions of the National Grasslands), participate in the Junior Ranger program, or enjoy ranger-led events and activities. It also has a gift shop with a variety of books and collector’s items for children and adults.

After watching the video, I got all of the questions on this interactive board correct except one.

All of these furs were interesting to touch. There were so many different textures and degrees of softness.

YES!! That one IS a skunk! And guess what? It didn’t even smell, and, believe it or not, it was one of the softest ones there.

Another day we visited the Wounded Knee Museum in Wall, SD. On December 23, 1890, US troops massacred almost 300 Lakota Sioux men, women, and children at what would be known as the Wounded Knee Massacre. The Wounded Knee Museum in Wall is dedicated to telling the story of the Lakota families whose lives were profoundly changed or lost at Wounded Knee.

There is a nominal admission fee ($6 for adults but we paid the Senior Citizen price of $5). The museum presents the story of the Wounded Knee Massacre in a narrative form. Visitors essentially “walk” through the story of the massacre. There is a model of the massacre, and a Remembrance Room honoring the victims of Wounded Knee. This museum gives visitors another perspective on the events of that fateful day. It is quite sobering and touched me in an emotional way. Zoom in to read some of the information in the photos.

This book contains photo copies of the actual treaty between the US government and the Sioux Indians in the Wounded Knee area. Each of the many pages is laminated and you can read it.