Visiting North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck ND

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The North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum is located directly across from the state capitol building meaning one stop free parking. The museum is housed in a large modern attractive facility. At one end are the state archives featuring a gallery of revolving art exhibits. The long spacious lobby has the proverbial store and cafe plus a state tourism information center. There are displays lining the lobby such as gems and minerals, guns and pottery and the centerpiece is a huge mastadon bone. The museum is divided into four galleries. The smallest is the Governor’s Gallery devoted to temporary exhibits. The geographical history of North Dakota is related in Adaptation Gallery: Geologic Time. This is a terrific collection of fossils and reconstructed skeletons and other ancient creatures that once roamed the area. See vicious looking flying reptiles hanging above and dinosaurs posed in dramatic settings. There is an ancient underwater world and incredible giant turtles. Next up is Innovation Gallery: Early Peoples covering indigenous peoples from 13,000 years ago to the 1860s. Countless artifacts are displayed illustrating history and life of the first peoples occupying what is now North Dakota. The largest area is Inspiration Gallery: Yesterday and Today which is cram packed with memorabilia and artifacts from the pioneer era to more contemporary times. The gallery is mazelike traversing history from an original 1886 homestead cabin to a recreation of a 1950s soda fountain. There are vintage signs, furniture, musical instruments and even a 1929 Studebaker. Agriculture and industry are highlighted. Special emphasis is placed on ethnic culture particularly German immigrants. Visitors have a lot to look at and the price is right for the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum: free.