15 December 2018

14. SD School of Mines & Technology Museum of Geology

Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
Website: https://www.sdsmt.edu/Academics/Museum-of-Geology/Museum/
The Collections: I visited the SDSMT collections while they were in the midst of moving into their new paleontology center, but even with many specimens packed up to move, the wealth of Eocene and Oligocene mammals from South Dakota (and, oddly, Miocene fossils from Oregon) were a major component of my PhD research. Now that the shiny new building is up and running, I'll have to find an excuse to go visit again at some point.
The Exhibits: If you're visiting the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore, odds are good you'll pass through Rapid City. Do yourself a favor and check out the Museum of Geology, tucked away in a second floor hall on the SDSMT campus. Marine reptiles (and a few dinosaurs) from the Dakota Cretaceous make up the centerpiece of the museum, but the impressive mammal material from the nearby White River Badlands are what really set it apart (a case at the west end of the exhibits houses a particularly spectacular rhino-like brontothere). While in town, be sure to check out Dinosaur Park on a hill above Rapid City, home to some wonderfully retro dinosaur statues created by the WPA during the Great Depression.

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