Month August 2016

Tri-State Museum

Next to the Geographic Center of the Nation (or, at least, its monument) is the Tri-State Museum.  This one-room collection of community artifacts in Belle Fourche, South Dakota includes memorabilia and oddities from prehistoric fossils, cattle ranching, WWII, and modern industries.

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Museum of the Rockies

Bozeman, Montana has dinosaurs. The museum of the Rockies is where you find them. Compare T. rex skulls and the transition between an adolescent Triceratops to an adult. See paleontology in action at the show lab where paleontologists are absorbed in cleaning, preparing, and analyzing new fossil discoveries. My favorite curatorial flourish is the partial sculptures where half is a fully fleshed dinosaur with the other side being the bones in situ.

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Nevada City Music Hall

Intricate craftsmanship on display at the Nevada City Music Hall

Not to be outdone by its neighbor, Virginia City, Nevada City has its own oddity: a collection of music machines. Player pianos to full blown orchestras are on display and some remain accessible to any loose change that you may wish to pop into their mechanized bellies.

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