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.

Military and Service in North Dakota

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Handle objects U.S. military personnel have carried or worn throughout different time periods in history, starting with the Civil War era and the military serving at North Dakota forts on the frontier up to modern day. No weapons are included.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Military in North Dakota
Native American Games

This program takes place outdoors or in a large open space. Enjoy playing classic games of different Native American cultures. Learn the rules of hoop and stick, hand games, and ice gliders. Take a turn at playing each.

Length: 1 hourAge: 8 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Early Peoples
North Dakota Crops

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Learn about North Dakota’s most widely grown crops, including what the crops look like, how they are grown, and what they are used for. Play a dice game that identifies different crops. Time permitting, visit the State Museum’s interactive grain bin exhibit to further review and discuss crop uses.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Modern Times (1980s to Present)
North Dakota Landmarks

This program takes place in a classroom space. Use maps and Play-Doh to build geographic landmarks such as the rivers and the badlands onto North Dakota maps.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 4 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Modern Times (1980s to Present)
Pick Your Topic: Research in the Archives

Learn more about a specific topic or subject through the scope and collections of the State Archives. See where some of these related items are stored in the collections. Learn about primary and secondary sources, how to access the collections, and then view and handle historical documents. Please contact the State Archives for the specific topic you want to address. Consult the list below for ideas or request a topic of your choosing.

Possible topics include any from our online list of subject guides, as well as other subjects such as AV collections; World War I; World War II; the Nonpartisan League; the North Dakota Constitution; the Great Depression; and natural disasters (floods, tornadoes, blizzards). Specific towns and specific collections can also be used.

The length of time can be extended by request.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 10 and upCategory: Guided Tours and Talks, Hands-on ActivityTheme: Historical Research
Pioneer Schooling

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Experience what school was like for the average student during the early 1900s and handle artifacts from the time.

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

This program takes place in a classroom setting and the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Learn about various forms of energy in North Dakota. Study wind turbines, their usage, and form. Engineer and create a wind turbine and test out your design.

Length: 1 hourAge: 8 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Modern Times (1980s to Present)
Scavenger Hunt

This worksheet covers three State Museum’s galleries. Enjoy a guided tour of highlights of the Adaptation, Innovation, and Inspiration galleries. Progress through the permanent galleries with a scavenger hunt in hand. Answer questions such as “What year is on the boundary marker?” or “What is the last step in making pottery?” Focus on the broad themes of each gallery and learn a few neat details along the way.

Length: 1 hourAge: 10 and upCategory: Self-Guided WorksheetTheme: Multiple Galleries (Covers Many Times and/or Events)
Settlers Lawn Games

This program requires outdoor space. Learn about and try a combination of lawn games played by settlers. These include lawn bowling, croquet, hoop trundling, and more.

Length: 1 hourAge: 8 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Entertainment
Sitting Bull Portrait

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Learn about a portrait painted by Caroline Weldon, who traveled from New York to try to help Sitting Bull in his struggles with the U.S. government.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 10 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Military in North Dakota
Smallpox

This program takes place in the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples. Listen to a presentation on smallpox. Learn how the disease came to the continent and spread, in addition to the impact it had on Indigenous peoples.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 14 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Early Peoples
The Sound of Music

This program takes place in a classroom. Learn about and play some of our favorite historical instruments. Experience a hurdy gurdy, accordion, and bagpipe, all of which are culturally significant to different settlers of North Dakota.

Length: 30 minutesAge: 8 and upCategory: Games and PlayTheme: Turn of the Century (1900s)
Then and Now

This worksheet covers content in both the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples and the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. Using the worksheet, see an example of a modern-day object. Find the historical equivalents in the galleries. Many of the modern-day objects have more than one example in the State Museum. Write the name of the historical object and describe or draw it.

Length: 45 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Self-Guided WorksheetTheme: Multiple Galleries (Covers Many Times and/or Events)
USS North Dakota

This program takes place in the Hall of Honors. Listen to a presentation about the USS North Dakota, a dreadnought in the U.S. Navy. Learn about its adventures from when it set sail in 1910. View a model of the ship along with its bow plate and bell, which were saved prior to its disassembly.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Military in North Dakota
What Killed Dakota the Dinomummy?

In the Adaptation Gallery: Geologic Time, learn about one of the most unique fossils in the world, Dakota. Act as detectives to determine which other prehistoric animals may have killed Dakota. Learn about different time periods, fossils, herbivores, and carnivores.

Length: 1 hourAge: 10 and upCategory: Hands-on ActivityTheme: Dinosaurs (Paleontology)
Who Founded Medora?

This program takes place in the Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today. It tells the story of the Marquis de Morès’ 1883 arrival in Dakota Territory to build a slaughterhouse and other businesses, which ultimately failed.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Farming/Ranching
Winter Count

This program takes place in the Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples. View a winter count and learn about its purpose. Understand who made these and why these are important.

Length: 15 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Guided Tours and TalksTheme: Early Peoples
Would You Rather?

This worksheet covers the three main galleries of the museum: Adaptation, Innovation, and Inspiration. Using the worksheet, guide your journey through the museum, pondering several “Would You Rather?” scenarios. Make a choice and defend it based on what you have learned from the artifacts. Examples of questions might include: “Would you rather be a T.rex or a Triceratops?” or “Would you rather farm in the 1920s or raise cattle?”

Length: 45 minutesAge: 6 and upCategory: Self-Guided WorksheetTheme: Multiple Galleries (Covers Many Times and/or Events)