This list of museums in South Dakota encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions (including nonprofit organizations, government entities, and private businesses) that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace (i.e., virtual museums) are not included.
Museums Name Town/City County Region Type Summary 1881 Courthouse Museum Custer Custer Western Local history Operated by the Custer Country Historical Society Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve McCook Lake Union Southeast Open air website, park with historic Shay-Adams Home with period furnishings, barn, country school and church Adams Museum & House Deadwood Lawrence Western Local history Exhibits include folk art, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Deadwood Dick Akta Lakota Museum Chamberlain Brule Central Native American website, profiles the lives of nomadic Plains Indians Armed Forces Military Display and Gifts Wasta Pennington Western Military Private museum displaying foreign and domestic militaria from World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam and current US conflicts Augustana College Art Galleries Sioux Falls Minnehaha Southeast Art Center for Visual Arts houses the Eide/Dalrymple Gallery and Carl Grupp Permanent Collection, the Hovland Center for Liturgical Arts, dedicated space for displaying student work; Center for Western Studies Art Gallery displays history and cultures of the Northern Plains and rotating exhibits of regional artists Aurora County Museum Plankinton Aurora Southeast Local history Austin-Whittemore House Vermillion Clay Southeast Local history Operated by the Clay County Historical Society, late 19th-century house with Victorian furnishings and items of local historical interest Badlands National Park Interior Jackson Western Natural history Visitor center exhibits include the geology, paleontology and natural history of the park Badlands Petrified Garden Kadoka Jackson Western Natural history website, rocks, minerals and fossils Beauvais Heritage Museum Clark Clark Northeast Open air website, complex includes museum with period displays, Clark Railroad Depot, a settler's shanty, a pioneer church and school; also known as Clark County Museum Big Thunder Gold Mine Keystone Pennington Western Mining website, includes mine tour and museum Black Hills Mining Museum Lead Lawrence Western Mining website, simulated gold mine tours Black Hills Museum of Natural History Hill City Pennington Western Natural history Fossils, dinosaurs, gems, minerals, meteorites Bon Homme Heritage Museum Tyndall Bon Homme Southeast Local history Borglum Historical Center Keystone Pennington Western Biographical website, Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum Brookings County Museum Volga Brookings Northeast Local history Includes an 1870 log cabin, vintage farm equipment, antique tools, and a one-room country school house Buechel Memorial Lakota Museum St. Francis Todd Central Native American website, history of the Lakota of the Rosebud Indian Reservation, operated by the St. Francis Mission Buffalo Historical Museum Buffalo Harding Western Local history Includes museum and 1914 one room schoolhouse Buffalo Interpretive Center Fort Pierre Stanley Central Natural history website, story of the buffalo, its importance and significance in the North American Indian cultures of the Great Plains, and its relationship to the people of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Campbell Original Straw Bale Built Museum Carthage Miner Southeast Local history website, located in a building built out of straw bales Carnegie Resource Center Mitchell Davison Southeast Local history website, operated by the Mitchell Area Historical Society, exhibits of local history and genealogy, permanent collection of Corn Palace memorabilia Casey Tibbs South Dakota Rodeo Center Fort Pierre Stanley Central Sports website, South Dakota rodeo heritage and memorabilia Cecil & Phyllis Melcher Museum Platte Charles Mix Southeast Local history Located in the Lyric Theatre, includes dolls, wildlife of South Dakota, toy tractors and tractors, arts of local areas, cars and a military room Celebrity Hotel Memorabilia Display Deadwood Lawrence Western Multiple website, located in the Celebrity Hotel, celebrity memorabilia, cars and motorcycles Center for Western Studies Sioux Falls Minnehaha Southeast American West website, part of Augustana College, exhibits include Native American artifacts, 19th century replica Norwegian living room, Jim Savage art studio, changing exhibits from its collections Chapel in the Hills Rapid City Pennington Western Historic site Stave church replica of the Borgund stave church in Norway and 19th century Norwegian log cabin Children's Museum of South Dakota Brookings Brookings Northeast Children's website Civilian Conservation Corps Museum of South Dakota Hill City Pennington Western History website Classic Wheels Museum Clark Clark Northeast Transportation website, includes antique vehicles, toy cars, model trains Codington County Heritage Museum Watertown Codington Northeast Local history History and heritage of Codington County and the Coteau des Prairie region of northeastern South Dakota Corn Palace Mitchell Davison Southeast Agriculture History of the Corn Palace's design, construction, link to area agriculture Corsica Historical Museum Corsica Douglas Southeast Local history website Cramer Kenyon Heritage Home Yankton Yankton Southeast Historic house website, 1880s Victorian mansion Crazy Horse Memorial Crazy Horse Custer Western Multiple Monumental sculpture of Crazy Horse, Indian Museum of North America, and the Native American Cultural Center Custer State Park Custer Custer Western Multiple Includes Peter Norbeck Center with natural history and cultural heritage displays, and Badger Hole, the historic house of poet Badger Clark Dacotah Prairie Museum Aberdeen Brown Northeast Multiple website, natural, cultural and local history Dahl Arts Center Rapid City Pennington Western Art website Dakota Discovery Museum Mitchell Davison Southeast Multiple website, art, history, culture, located on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University Dakota Sunset Museum Gettysburg Potter Central Local history website, includes museum, country school, carriage barn, and blacksmith shop Dakota Territorial Museum Yankton Yankton Southeast Local history website, includes museum, school, depot and caboose. Now located inside the Mead Cultural Education Center in Yankton. Dakotaland Museum Huron Beadle Northeast Local history Located on the State Fairgrounds Daneville Heritage Museum Viborg Turner Southeast Local history Day County Museum Webster Day Northeast Local history Located in basement of Day County Courthouse Days of '76 Museum Deadwood Lawrence Western American West website, includes horse-drawn vehicles, rodeo items, Old West pioneer and American Indian art and artifacts D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery Spearfish Lawrence Western Industry Former hatchery, includes Von Bayer Museum of Fish Culture with exhibits about the history and science of fish culture and fisheries De Smet Depot Museum De Smet Kingsbury Southeast Local history Clear Lake Museum Clear Lake Deuel Northeast Local history Operated by the Clear Lake Historical Society, open for special events and by appointment Cheryl's Doll House Lennox Lincoln Southeast Toy Donald Christman Toy Museum Lake Norden Hamlin Southeast Toy Includes antique dishes and farm toys, antique dolls Douglas County Museum Armour Douglas Southeast Local history Includes the Country School and Railroad House, operated by the Douglas County Historical Society Elkton Community Museum Elkton Brookings Northeast Local history Open by appointment Eureka Pioneer Museum Eureka McPherson Northeast Local history Faulk County Historical Museum Faulkton Faulk Central Local history Open by appointment Fort Meade Museum Sturgis Meade Western Military website, history of Fort Meade, located in the former commanding officers' quarters Fort Sisseton Historical Park Lake City Marshall Northeast Military State park with preserved 1864 fort buildings Four Mile Old West Town Custer Custer Western Open air website, buildings include a town hall, saloon, general store, church, bank, an outhouse, sheriff's office, jails Frederick Area Historical Society Frederick Brown Northeast Local history Garretson Area Historical Society Museum Garretson Minnehaha Southeast Local history Geddes Historic Village Geddes Charles Mix Southeast Open air Operated by the Charles Mix County Historical Restoration Society, open by appointment Granary Rural Cultural Center Groton Brown Southeast Art website Grand River Museum Lemmon Perkins Western Multiple website, includes local bronze sculptures, ranching, Native American and homestead artifacts, fossils and Creation Science displays Grant County Historical Society Museum Milbank Grant Northeast Local history Gary Historical MuseumGaryDeuelNortheastHistorical MuseumOperated by the Gary Historical Association Open for special occasions and by appointment.