Programs and Activities

Below is a description of the different programs offered at the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum. Included are approximate lengths, appropriate ages of the audience, and a description of the experience and learning.

 

Guided Tours and Talks: Learn from an expert. Programs in this section will be led by a gallery guide and provide additional information about galleries or themes beyond what is written in exhibit text.

Hands-on Activity: Bring history out from behind a museum case. Programs in this section will include using objects or artifacts to learn about a particular theme or historical event. These programs vary with group size and content and may take place in either a gallery or classroom setting.

Self-Guided Worksheet: Pace yourself and place yourself at the center of learning. Programs in this section are intended to be used by individuals or small groups to allow for more introspection and connection with the gallery.

Games and Play: Both children and adults alike enjoy playing. Programs in this section will include a brief history of the game’s relevance to North Dakota and the instructions on how to play. The rest of the time will be spent playing with the toy/game.

Energy of North Dakota

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Handle various artifacts and products related to the energy industry in North Dakota. Learn the use of tools and view models of the different energy sources. Ask questions about the vast energy industry of the state. Wind, coal, oil, and hydroelectric power are all addressed.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 10 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Modern Times (1980s to Present)
Entertainment Technology Through Time

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Play with technology from two different time periods. Learn how magic lanterns and stereoscopes work. Compare them to an Atari and NES. Handle these historical technologies and enjoy a short game on an Atari/NES.

Length: 1 hourAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Entertainment
Erecting a Tipi

This program takes place outdoors. Using 15-foot wooden poles and rope, work with a group to assemble a three-pole tipi. Learn about significant steps in the process and their cultural connections. Practice a few etiquette tips.

Length: 45 minutesAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Early Peoples
Ethnic Traditions

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Handle various artifacts related to a variety of cultures in North Dakota. There are clothing pieces, games, and holiday mementos. Interact with the items and ask questions.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Turn of the Century (1900s)
Faro

This program can be completed at any location. Learn the rules of the card game Faro. Bet your chips and gamble away. Play a few rounds of this game that was popularized during the 17th century.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 10 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Entertainment
French Gratitude Train

This program takes place in the Hall of Honors located in the lower level. Hear the origins of the train car and the history of how it came to North Dakota. Learn about some pieces that were sent in the car.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 14 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Military in North Dakota
Full Guided Tour

This program takes place in three State Museum galleries. Enjoy highlights with a tour guide in the Adaptation, Inspiration, and Innovation galleries. Learn in-depth about the progression of North Dakota through time from its prehistoric record to today. Ask the guide questions and satisfy your curiosity.

Length: 2 hoursAge: 4 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Multiple Galleries (Covers Many Times and/or Events)
Genealogy Starts With Me!

In this introduction to genealogy, learn about available sources in the State Archives and research your own genealogy. Using these sources, explore your family history and begin to create a timeline—beginning by looking up your own birthdate in local newspapers.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Genealogy
German-Russian Immigration

Learn about the migration of German-Russian people to North Dakota. Be assigned a role card and understand the daily life associated with homesteading. Understand the cultural ties related to food and music that still exist in the state today because of their immigration.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 12 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Turn of the Century (1900s)
Graces

This game must be played outdoors or in a large indoor space. Experience a game that was intended for young settler children. Use sticks to toss a hoop back and forth with a partner.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Entertainment
Highlights of History

This program takes place in three State Museum galleries. Enjoy highlights with a tour guide the Adaptation, Innovation, and Inspiration galleries. Learn a brief overview of the progression of North Dakota through time from its prehistoric record to today. Ask the guide questions and satisfy your curiosity.

Length: 1 hourAge: 4 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Multiple Galleries (Covers Many Times and/or Events)
History Through My Family Tree

Read a book and learn how everyone’s family is different. Then learn about your own family by creating a family tree!

Length: 30 minutesAge: 3-6Category: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Genealogy
Holland Automobile

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Learn about the history of cars and the connection of the car to bicycles and the railroad.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 4 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Turn of the Century (1900s)
Hoop and Stick

This game must be played outdoors. Experience a game intended for young settler children. Use a stick to roll a large trundle, or hoop, along the ground.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Entertainment
I Am Not a Mammoth

This program takes place in the Corridor of History next to the mastodon. Learn how to tell the difference between a mammoth and a mastodon and hear about the history of this mastodon skeleton.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 4 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Fossils/Geology
Indoor Toys

This program can take place at any location. Play with tin toys and toy trains, a favorite pastime during the 1850s. Learn as you interact with these historical toys.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Entertainment
Is Progress Good or Bad? (IDM)

This program takes place in Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Contemplate the value of progress using three new developments that impacted North Dakota: fracking, the Garrison Dam, and nuclear arms. Use primary and secondary sources to debate the question “Is progress good or bad?”

Length: 2 hoursAge: 14 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Modern Times (1980s to Present)
Lawn Bowling

This game must be played outdoors or in a large indoor space. Learn about early nine-pin bowling games. Play a round.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Entertainment
Lifeways of the Mandan People

This program takes place in the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples utilizing the cyclorama painting of Double Ditch, a Mandan village located about 10 miles north of Bismarck. Handle artifacts that can be found in or are related to the painting. Understand how the Mandans lived prior to contact with Europeans. Discuss earthlodges, gardening, and different aspects of Mandan life. There are many objects depicted in the painting that can be discussed; extend the time of the program up to 1 hour by request.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 4 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Early Peoples
Living Off the Land

This program takes place in the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples. Handle artifacts that have been used by North Dakotans to survive or make an economic living off the land. Consider the time periods of different items spanning from those used by early peoples, fur traders, and pioneers to what we use today.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 4 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Multiple Galleries (Covers Many Times and/or Events)