The South Dakota State Historical Society Museum is switching the annual Museum Activity Day in February to a “Take-to-Make” program this year. The theme for this year’s Activity Day is “In the Stars.”
Rather than coming to the Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre on Sunday, Feb. 7, for ice cream and hands-on projects, visitors will pick up bags from 1-3 p.m. CST with the materials and instructions and take the projects home to complete. Instructional videos for the projects will be posted on the museum’s website (history.sd.gov/museum) and Facebook page. In keeping with the tradition of serving ice cream at this event, visitors will also be able to pick up a freeze-dried ice cream bar to take home and enjoy.
To make sure there are enough bags to meet demand, the museum reserves the right to limit the number any one person or group can take.
Each bag will contain two different projects: a four-sided star quilt ornament and a coloring sheet of the Big Dipper within the Ursa Major (Great Bear) constellation and star stickers to add to the sheet. Information about Lakota meanings for the Big Dipper are included on the back of the coloring sheet.
“We are pleased to be providing programming like ‘In the Stars’ in a safe way during the pandemic,” said Museum Director Jay Smith. “The hands-on projects are designed to be successfully completed at home by people of all ages -- and who doesn’t enjoy ice cream, even if it is freeze-dried?”
The museum is open for visitors. A check-in station at the front door allows visitors to check their temperature and pick up a face mask and gloves if they wish to wear them while enjoying the galleries. Signage encourages visitors to maintain 6-foot social distancing, and hand sanitizer stations are located throughout the museum.
There is now free admission to the museum for all South Dakota residents. Out-of-state adult visitors pay an $8 admission fee or $6 for out-of-state seniors 60-and-older. Museum hours are 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. CST Monday through Saturday, and 1-4:30 p.m. CST on Sundays and most holidays. Call 605-773-3458 for more information about exhibits, special events, and upcoming activities, or membership in the State Historical Society.
About the South Dakota State Historical Society
The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Education. The State Historical Society, an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution since 2013, is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing, and administrative/development offices. Call 605-773-3458 or visit www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call 605-394-1936 for more information.
