This is one place you won't want to miss when visiting the Black Hills area. Make the decision to drive a little south and you will have an opportunity of a life time to see an actual archaeological dig for Columbian and wooly mammoth bones. 33 Columbian mammoths have been found in this place! All bones are in situ, which means they have been left as they are found. Amazing museum also!

The past several times I'd been to the Black Hills area, I avoided this place, thinking it was just a tourist trap. However, after having visited, I must say that I was wrong. There are tons of Mammoth bones, and the explanation why they are there and how they were found. It is presented in an intresting enough manner that my 4 and 5 year old kids enjoyed it and learned, too

From previous other reviews, we decided to include this stop in our vacation. This Mammoth Site didn't disappoint us. However, the day we visited had not any active diggers, so we couldn't observe how they worked.

We recently visited this on our family vacation (July, 2005) and we all agreed that this was a highlight of our trip. We had all ages - mom, dad, 2 teenagers, and a 5-year old. After purchasing your ticket, you are assigned a tour...you go as a large group. You're taken back into the excavation area, where at several 'stops', the tour guide gives you the 'speil' while you listen in on telephones for better hearing. The excavation site itself is a marvel to behold - we were all fascinated with what they've found. This is one site where the bones & fossils are being left as is...so you can see exactly how the animals were found.
The site is a former sinkhole where they believe hundreds of animals fell in and could not get out...and eventually died, leaving behind hundreds of fossils. The tour guide was very informative and left ample time for questions.
At the end of the guided tour, you're welcome to roam around the site and take as many pictures as you want. You're somewhat 'above' the site on various walkways and catwalks, but it is very easy to see everything. There is then a large museum/exhibit area where there is a lot of information on mammoths in general, as well as other pre-historic trivia. Don't miss taking the elevator down to "B" level and watch the technicians in the lab actually work on some of the bones...behind glass, of course! It's not well advertised, so a lot of people didn't realize you could do that.
After the excavation site, and then the exhibit area, there is a large gift show with an area in the back where kids can 'dig' up fossils in the sand. I found a 20% discount coupon on the internet for the gift shop, which helped save money!
This was a fun site for the kids - they learned a lot, and it was interesting, and it was NOT outdoors, so it was NOT hot! Woo hoo!

A TripAdvisor Member

A must see! What a neat place to visit! They give you a tour of the actual sink hole site they are undigging mammoth fossils from long ago. You learn lots on the guided tour and can take as many pictures as you like. There is a lot to see plus at the end is a museum/gift shop area where kids can practice "digging" for fossils (brushing dirt away with brushes) - but they loved it!!!