Dacotah Prairie Museum

Updates

Posted on Oct 23, 2020

Posted on Oct 16, 2020

Our Mercantile clearance sale will go until the end of October. 50-90% discounts on unique gifts, books and ornaments.
Your support means a lot to us, please consider shopping downtown Aberdeen! #AberdeenSD #KeepItLocal #MuseumsHaveGiftShops

Posted on Oct 9, 2020

The DPM will have a holiday raffle of cozy gift items from The Mercantile, our museum store. #holidayraffle
1) A basket of cool-weather comfort items with a nod to Aberdeen and Brown County history and,
2) A Melissa & Doug 30” T-Rex plush toy with a gift shop gift card.
Raffle tickets can be purc...

Posted on Oct 8, 2020

Need a date night idea? Stop in at Dacotah Prairie Museum to pick up a downtown scavenger hunt! This little kit is completely self-contained in its own bag, and will provide you with fun entertainment on a beautiful autumn afternoon or evening as you walk around downtown looking for clues. Enjoy ...

Posted on Oct 3, 2020

Harvest Stroll Sat. Oct. 3 11am - 2pm!
Stop by for fall fall, activity packets, hot cider, cookies, gallery show, photo ops, and holiday raffle.
At your downtown, hometown Dacotah Prairie Museum.

Posted on Sep 30, 2020

Hours were updated.

Posted on Sep 22, 2020

(Aberdeen, SD), The Dacotah Prairie Museum (DPM) will offer a “Stroll Around the Block” event to celebrate harvest time in Brown County on Sat. Oct. 3, 11am – 2pm. Staff will be offering a variety of stations placed around our historic 1889 building located at 21 S. Main St..
Enjoy the autumn ai...

Posted on Sep 9, 2020

It's not too early... to think about Christmas.
Christmas Tree Lane, that is!
Our annual holiday display of trees and wreaths by local service groups, businesses and individuals will go on this year. With a few modifications. Set up will be stretched out so that everyone can come at a scheduled t...

Learn more

Posted on Sep 4, 2020

Take an afternoon break and visit the Dacotah Prairie Museum’s latest exhibits!
Sept. hours: Tue-Fri, 1-5pm
Oct. hours: Tue-Fri, 10am-5pm

Laurie Heupel's Photography Exhibit, "It Started with a Brownie" is now on display in the Dacotah Gallery. Laurie is a traveler’s photographer; her landsc...

Testimonials

4 months ago

Loved the Apollo 13 & moon exhibit. Thank you for sharing it. It was awesome. I do enjoy going to this museum and seeing all the other exhibits. Very nice place to visit. Staff are friendly and helpful.

- J M

4 months ago

A friend of mine from Indianapolis joined me on a self-guided tour of the museum. His Summed up our visit by stating “ This is not a museum to display antiques, this is about people! Local people making history and keeping that history alive!” He went on to say “...and the gallery of local artists and their paintings is amazing!” I couldn’t agree more.

- kat t

a month ago

My kids absolutely loved this place!!! Lots of history!!! They have an awesome wild kingdom in there as well!!!

- Stacy A

About us

Our Mission:
The Dacotah Prairie Museum’s mission is to facilitate conversation of the prairie and its people, cultivate insight, and curate its collections as a catalyst for inter-generational exchanges to inspire children, connect families, and build community through education, programming, exhibits, and its collections.
Adopted May 26, 2015

Our Vision:
The Dacotah Prairie Museum, a non-profit, permanent learning center in service to all people, is committed to the continued growth of its collection of material evidence representing the ongoing history of its region. This collection will be used by present and future generations to study and interpret the lives and accomplishments of previous generations inhabiting the Dakota Prairie. Through these endeavors the Museum will continue to advance itself as a cultural, educational and economic asset to South Dakota.
Adopted November 18, 2008

Our Values
Respect: For people, their stories, their artifacts
Excellence: In personal and institutional performance
Achievement: Through timely accomplishment of stated goals
Responsibility: To ourselves, to each other, to the institution and to the public
Fairness: In judgment and decision making
Integrity: In preservation and presentation
Adopted November 18, 2008

Our Tagline:
To preserve and share the stories of the Dakota Prairie and its inhabitants.