Speciality & Gift ShopsHistory Museums

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Monday

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Tuesday

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Wednesday

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Thursday

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Friday

8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Saturday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Sunday

10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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About

Four galleries tell the fascinating story of North Dakota through thousands of artifacts and specimens, high-tech displays, and interactive exhibits. Experience North Dakota’s heritage throughout the museum spaces. Along with the galleries, hallway exhibits located within the Corridor of History also help tell our unique story. The Northern Lights Atrium is a stunning combination of architecture and symbolism, and the outdoor Pembina River Plaza features specimens from our geologic past. Find treasures in the new Museum Store, and enjoy refreshments at the James River Cafe. From a life-size T. rex skeleton cast to a 1950s soda shop, you will find connections from your own life with your experience here. Our goal is “history for everyone."

Duration: 2-3 hours

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See what travelers are saying

ArtsyGalBaltimore
847 contributions
North Dakota Heritage Center and State Museum: WOW!
State Capitol Building closed on weekends apparently in the fall. Tried the museum for an unanticipated find for a east coast traveler. Visited the adaption gallery of geological time anchored to ND discoveries. Innovation Gallery early peoples effective exhibits. Half an hour not enough time for this balanced, informative exhibit. Wish I had more time in this museum. Great gift shop and regret that we did not drive by in the night for a fuller appreciation of the architecture.
Visited September 2023
Traveled solo
Written October 8, 2023
Albernio
Port Hardy, Canada132 contributions
Excellent Place to Visit While Travelling Through the State Capital.
It's a really nice place to put on your list of activities while in Bismarck. The building and the surroundings are so beautiful, within the North Dakota State Capitol grounds. Surprisingly it is totally free for all visitors and the staff is very friendly and helpful. Very interesting collections of fossils and audiovisual material about the local history, geology, geography and culture. There is a cafeteria, a nice gift shop and great access for disabled visitors, including mobility scooters.
Visited November 2023
Traveled solo
Written November 19, 2023
irishsue70
117 contributions
Great place for children and adults
Fantastic place to view the history of the area and time in general. There were many models of dinosaurs down to more recent happenings. Interactive programs make it interesting for kids and adults alike. Multiple exhibits with Native American people providing insights.
Visited June 2024
Traveled with family
Written June 9, 2024

These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5

655 reviews

Excellent

514

Very good

118

Average

19

Poor

0

Terrible

4

Arjun S

St. Paul, United States153 contributions

More than the best dinosaurs

Jun 2021

We visited the North Dakota Heritage center with children and spent 2 hours there. It is a remarkably well done smaller museum with has an excellent dinosaur display. The whole museum is well laid out and well planed with topical displays of native Americans, immigrants and industry. Both the adults and kids thoroughly enjoy the visit.

Written June 14, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Grussingtravels

Detroit Lakes, MN248 contributions

Amazing a must stop

Jul 2020 • Family

First of all it’s free!!! Second it new and clean and well organized. The galleries offer amazing exhibits from fossils, dinosaur bones, horses, cowboys, Native Americans and pioneers/farmers. It is interactive and so educational. The staff are so helpful and kind. The museum opens at 9am so you can have something to explore early before everything else opens in Bismarck!

Written July 3, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

DadDoug

Wildwood, MO68 contributions

Excellent exhibits! ND should be proud!

Jul 2021 • Couples

This museum has several stationary exhibitions and a space for special exhibits. At the time we went the special exhibit was on fashions and was very well done and enjoyable.
The next permanent exhibit hall had very good exceptionally good displays of dinosaur skeletons. It was one of the best exhibits on dinosaurs that I have seen.
The next hole was centered around Native Americans as they evolved through North Dakota.
All spaces were excellent and what they displayed and their explanations. North Dakota should be extremely happy with this museum.
We were pleasantly surprised!

Written July 2, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Meredith S

60 contributions

Wonderful Museum

Jul 2021

I'm so glad we took the time to stop here! This was, as other reviewers have noted, a Smithsonian-quality museum. I was very impressed. We were not familiar at all with North Dakota and its history/culture, and this museum really gave a great overview. All of the exhibits were really good and interesting. Plus, it's free, so take an hour or two and enjoy this wonderful museum.

Written July 12, 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

cenzt

Ohio19,575 contributions

Exploring the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum

Jun 2022

Excellent trip! We arrived at approximately 8 am and made our way towards the entrance of the museum. The museum is huge and admission is free for all! There are three permanent galleries inside the museum, and one rotating gallery. We toured each gallery one by one, and were extremely impressed by the amount of artifacts and items out for display in each one. Each item was labeled and there were an informational plaque in front of each artifact, giving us some background information on what we were seeing. The entire museum contained items relating to the history of North Dakota. The museum also had recreations of various building structures, replicas of dinosaurs, and stuffed animal exhibits. There was something to do and see for everyone of all ages. There was so much to see I actually went back the next day because I didn’t get to see it all on the first day! I highly recommend this museum.

Tip: I recommend spending 2 full days here if you truly want to see everything.

Written June 21, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

GriffnLeanne

Morrinsville, New Zealand124 contributions

More than a few hours of exploring and learning

Dec 2022 • Couples

This museum is free to enter, is modern with a number of sections covering 4 very different sections that we looked at. We ended up spending a couple of hours one day and came back the next day to finish the last gallery. There is also a cafe here if you want a break. The front desk team were really informative, friendly and welcoming, explaining the galleries and making a suggestion for where to start. Thanks for a fabulous visit - we were in Bismarck on a windy, cold, snowy day so this was the perfect activity

Written December 10, 2022

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Brandon K

Flagstaff, AZ2,008 contributions

Great little museum - styled like a Smithsonian

Jun 2023 • Family

We came to Bismarck to come to this museum based on grandparents recommending it for the kids. It was well worth the trip. Very friendly and helpful staff give you a full run down up front if you ask. My wife grew up in the area and had been years ago when it was much smaller, so half our visit was seeing what areas she remembered and the other half was seeing the new exhibits (to her). Well done overall. While my kids made fun of it at first, I caught my two older ones playing the crop harvesting demo for about 10 minutes. Everyone loved the dinosaurs, of course. We had a good time, although I think I could sense people spending less time at each item as we approached the two hour mark and people were getting hungry. Very well done and worth a trip.

Written June 14, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Smiledoctorsmile

Saint Paul, MN211 contributions

We liked it so much we went twice!

Jun 2020

My dad (78) especially liked reading all the exhibits. A wide range of displays and good information provided. The business was very good about taking temperature and wearing masks. A great gift shop. And free! We were very pleased with our visits.

Written June 27, 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

NemoTraveler

Aarhus, Denmark812 contributions

ND History

Jul 2023 • Couples

The ND Heritage Center is located downtown Bismarck near the State Capitol with ample parking available. The main entrance is situated on East Boulevard Avenue and it is also possible to enter from the parking lot located next to the Sakakawea Statue

It is a large museum with some interesting galleries featuring the history from the formation of the state to contemporary times. There is a large and interesting gallery about the geology and life in the area with some impressive dinosaurs. Also we enjoyed the gallery showing the development in North Dakota during the last couple of hundred years with some excellent exhibits featuring agricultural and industrial developments.

When we visited there was also a great special exhibition about the development of postal services in the state. Also there is an excellent gift shop.

It is possible to spend several hours in the Center and admittance is free.

Written July 29, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jr2017H2O

Valparaiso, IN354 contributions

More Than Expected

Jun 2023

What a great find! Very well done museum and free! We went here in an afternoon when the day was hotter after walking outside at other sights. Parking is close by, also free! And you could walk to the Capitol building and the statues of Sakakawea and the Bison.

The exhibits are well done and informative. Great staff, you feel very welcomed. You can sit in their atrium if you get tired. If we had spent more time here I would have tried their cafe. Definitely recommend.

Written July 7, 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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