Homeschool Discounts in South Dakota (2026) — Mammoth Digs, Dinosaurs & Science Centers

South Dakota's homeschool deals are heavy on deep time. Hot Springs' Mammoth Site — the world's largest Columbian mammoth dig — runs school classes right over an active bonebed, and Rapid City stacks two more: the Journey Museum's dinosaur dig pit at $5 a student, and the Museum of Geology's $3 school tours past mounted dinosaurs and White River Badlands fossils. The free South Dakota Air & Space Museum adds F-16 simulators and an annual STEM Day.

Eastern South Dakota holds its own. Sioux Falls' Washington Pavilion runs $10 hands-on homeschool classes across its Kirby Science Center and CineDome, the Great Plains Zoo books $8.50 student field trips plus a spring Homeschool Day, and Mitchell's Indigenous Archaeological Site — the only active public dig in the state — admits students free and hands free activity packets to homeschool groups.

Confirmed homeschool pricing

Published price on the venue's own homeschool page — most under $20 per child.

Recurring

Tue–Sat

By reservation

per kid

The Journey Museum & Learning Center

Rapid City · All ages · Book a group visit in advance

Rapid City's flagship museum ties together the Black Hills' geology, paleontology, archaeology, and Native American and pioneer history under one roof. Interactive exhibits include a dinosaur dig pit and hands-on paleontology, and the $5 group rate covers a two-day admission.

Regular admission: $14 adults / $9 youth 6-17 / Free under 5 (gate) — $5 per student educational-group rate versus the $9 youth gate

Note: Educational groups pay $5 per student (all ages 18 and under), or $6 for college students. The museum also runs homeschool classes and summer camps, and individual admission is good for two consecutive days. Reserve group visits ahead.

Homeschool page at journeymuseum.org →

Recurring

Weekdays

By reservation

per kid

Museum of Geology at SD Mines

Rapid City · All ages · Reserve a guided tour ahead

On the South Dakota Mines campus, this museum mounts skeletons of dinosaurs, marine reptiles, and Ice Age mammals alongside rare White River Badlands fossils and a Hall of South Dakota Minerals. A natural single-day field trip for any earth-science unit.

Regular admission: $10 adults / $5 children 6-15 / Free under 6 (gate) — $3 per student school-tour rate versus the $5 child gate

Note: School tours are $3 per student by reservation, exploring mounted dinosaur, marine-reptile, and mammal skeletons, White River Badlands fossils, meteorites, and a fluorescent-mineral room. Individual and group tours are by reservation only.

Homeschool page at sdsmt.edu →

Recurring

Wed–Sat

By reservation

Free

per kid

South Dakota Air and Space Museum

Rapid City · All ages · Call ahead for a group visit

South Dakota's free aviation museum, at the gate of Ellsworth Air Force Base just east of Rapid City, with an outdoor air park of 30-plus military aircraft — WWII bombers to a B-1 — and four hangars of aerospace history. A paid bus tour adds a Minuteman missile silo.

Regular admission: Free — free admission plus free school programs at the Ellsworth AFB gate

Note: Admission and parking are free, and the museum runs school field trips and outreach including F-16 simulator sessions and an annual STEM Day with demonstrations from Ellsworth base units. Call ahead to arrange a guided group visit.

Homeschool page at travelsouthdakota.com →

Recurring

School year

Homeschool classes

$10

per kid

Washington Pavilion & Kirby Science Center

Sioux Falls · All ages · Register through the education team

Sioux Falls' premier arts-and-science center pairs the Kirby Science Discovery Center's 100-plus interactive exhibits with the Wells Fargo CineDome theater and the Visual Arts Center galleries. Its homeschool classes invite kids and parents to explore, create, and learn together.

Regular admission: $16.25 adults / $13.50 youth 3-17 (Kirby gate) — $10 homeschool classes versus the $13.50 youth gate

Note: Homeschool Classes are $10 a child — hands-on art and science activities designed for homeschool families, exploring the Kirby Science Discovery Center, an educational CineDome film, and the Visual Arts Center. STEAM Days bundle the whole campus into one visit.

Homeschool page at washingtonpavilion.org →

Recurring

Year-round

By reservation

$8.50

per kid

Great Plains Zoo

Sioux Falls · All ages · Reserve at least 2 weeks ahead via the education dept

A 45-acre zoo with more than 1,000 animals — big cats, bears, primates, a free-flight aviary — plus the Delbridge Museum of Natural History. Homeschool program packages and a dedicated spring Homeschool Day make it an easy single-day science outing.

Regular admission: $16.95 adults / $12.95 youth 2-12 (online gate) — $8.50 per student field-trip rate versus the $12.95 youth gate

Note: Field trips are $8.50 per person plus tax; homeschool program packages run year-round by reservation (price by email), and a spring Homeschool Day covers both the zoo and the Butterfly House & Aquarium. Groups of 20+ also get $1.50 off general admission.

Homeschool page at greatzoo.org →

Recurring

May–September

Group tours by appointment

Free

per kid

Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum

Mitchell · All ages · Book groups of 10+ ahead; (605) 996-5473

A National Historic Landmark on Lake Mitchell preserving a 1,000-year-old village, with an active dig inside the climate-controlled Thomsen Archeodome. Students tour the Boehnen Museum's artifacts, step into a full-size earthlodge, and try the atlatl — hands-on archaeology in one stop.

Regular admission: $8 adults / Free under 18 — free for students at the state's only public archaeological dig

Note: Children 17 and under are admitted free, and the site books tours for groups of 10 or more by appointment with free teacher and homeschool activity packets. It guides 1,500-plus students a year through the active dig, the reconstructed earthlodge, and atlatl spear-throwing.

Homeschool page at mitchellindianvillage.org →

Recurring

Year-round

By reservation

$3.30

per kid

The Mammoth Site

Hot Springs · K-12 · Groups of 10+; call (605) 745-6017

The world's largest concentration of mammoth remains, where a boardwalk runs above Columbian and woolly mammoth bones still in an ancient sinkhole and paleontologists excavate each summer. Grade-banded STEAM classes turn the active dig into a hands-on archaeology and paleontology field trip.

Regular admission: $15 adults / $13 ages 4-12 / Free under 3 (gate) — $3.30/student STEAM classes versus the $13 child gate

Note: Grade-banded STEAM curriculum classes are $3.30 per student (the Odontology tooth-casting class is $5.50), for groups of 10 or more booked by phone at (605) 745-6017. Lessons cover archaeology, absolute dating, extinction, and paleo-technology, and Mammoth-In-A-Trunk loaner kits bring the dig to your classroom.

Homeschool page at mammothsite.org →

Plus more free and cheap educational outings in South Dakota

Already on DiscoverCheapUS — free and low-cost South Dakota attractions homeschool families plan whole field-trip days around.

Rapid City

8 free or cheap

City of Presidents Walking TourFree
Mount Rushmore National MemorialFree admission / $10 parking per vehicle
Berlin Wall Exhibit at Memorial ParkFree
Art AlleyFree
Museum of Geology at South Dakota Mines$10 adults / $5 children 6-15 / Free under 6
Chapel in the HillsFree (donations welcomed)
The Journey Museum & Learning Center$14 adults / $9 youth 6-17 / Free under 5
South Dakota Air and Space MuseumFree (donations welcome)

See all Rapid City attractions →

Sioux Falls

10 free or cheap

Falls ParkFree
SculptureWalkFree
Pettigrew Home & MuseumFree
USS South Dakota Battleship MemorialFree (donations appreciated)
Old Courthouse MuseumFree
Terrace Park Japanese GardensFree
Cathedral of Saint JosephFree
Washington Pavilion & Kirby Science Center$16.25 adults / $13.50 youth 3-17 / Free under 3
Great Plains Zoo$16.95 adults / $12.95 youth 2-12 / Free under 2 (online)
Butterfly House & Aquarium$15 adults / $11 youth 3-17 / Free under 2

See all Sioux Falls attractions →

Deadwood

7 free or cheap

Historic Main Street Self-Guided Walking TourFree
Mount Moriah Cemetery$2 cash only
Adams MuseumFree (suggested $5 adults / $3 children)
Days of '76 Museum$10 adults / $5 children 6–12 / Free under 6
Saloon No. 10 & Free Wild Bill ReenactmentFree to enter
Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center & Open Cut OverlookFree
Broken Boot Gold Mine$12 adults / $10 students 6–17 / Free under 6

See all Deadwood attractions →

Hot Springs

4 free or cheap

The Mammoth Site$15 adults / $13 ages 4-12 / Free under 3
Fall River County Pioneer Museum$6 adults / Free under 12 / $15 family
Historic Sandstone DowntownFree
Wind Cave National ParkFree park entry / Cave tours $14-16 adults, $7-8 youth

See all Hot Springs attractions →

Mitchell

5 free or cheap

World's Only Corn PalaceFree
Mitchell Indigenous Archaeological Site & Museum$8 adults / Free under 18
Dakota Discovery Museum$7 adults / $3 youth 6-17 / Free under 6
Carnegie Resource CenterFree
George & Eleanor McGovern Legacy MuseumFree

See all Mitchell attractions →

See all 46 South Dakota attractions on the directory →