Happenings @ the State Historical Society

About 30 million years ago, subtropical, swampy forests in North Dakota gave way to savanna-like treeless plains, dotted with ponds and lakes. There were grasslands, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. Gallery woodlands grew alongside the streams and rivers. Ancestors of animals including dogs, cats, camels, deer, horses, rhinoceroses, fish, birds, and insects inhabited the land and waters.   

Learn about North Dakota's savanna and the creatures that lived there. 

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Read articles from other issues of North Dakota History.

Oct. 8, 15, 22, 29 Feature Friday. Facebook will feature State Archives collections.
Oct. 12, 19, 26 Join us for a virtual scavenger hunt! Every Tuesday, we will post two clues on Facebook. Find the answer by looking through our web pages. Successful participants will be entered into a drawing for a $10 gift certificate to the Museum Store.
Oct. 13 #AskAnArchivist panel, 10 a.m. Pose questions to State Archives staff live on Facebook.
Oct. 23-29 Screening of North Dakota home movies, highlighting collections by movie makers from the 1930s through the 1980s. The films include new narrations recorded by the filmmakers and their families. Showing in the State Museum's Great Plains Theater and online. This program is a partnership between the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the Al Larvick Conservation Fund.
Throughout the month, in partnership with Prairie Public Radio, Dakota Datebook will showcase the State Archives history and holdings.

Dakota the Dinomummy is returning to the North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum. Currently, Audience Engagement & Museum staff and ND Geological Survey Paleontology staff are moving Dakota into its new home on the main floor of the State Museum.

The newly updated Dakota exhibit will have its public premier on Saturday, Oct. 16, with a full day of events, including presentations, tours, and a special showing of the film “Land Before Time.” “Dinnner with Dakota the Dinomummy” is an additional ticketed event on Thursday, Oct. 14, providing an exclusive first look at the Dakota the Dinomummy exhibit, dinner, Paleontology Laboratory tours, and a one-time-only special presentation about dinosaur discoveries by Stephanie Drumheller-Horton, Ph.D. Find information at bit.ly/DinomummyDinner.

Dakota is a significant part of the region’s fossil record. Discovered in 1999 on a ranch near Marmarth in the extreme southwestern corner of the state, Dakota is an adolescent Edmontosaurus, one genus in a larger group of duck-billed dinosaurs called hadrosaurs.

Learn more!

State Archives intern Anna reflects on her expectations and the reality of her work with the map collection. "When I first started working with the map collection, I did not expect to handle maps that were over 100 years old. Each time I pick up one of those maps I wonder about its history, where it came from, where it has been, and what it saw. If only these maps could talk, the stories they would tell!"
 
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Pack a thermos of hot cocoa, put on a hat, and get ready for unique fall adventures! Whether you want to hike a scenic trail, catch the sunrise over a stunning Badlands vista, find peace and quiet, or tour a historic home, fort, or archaeological site, you’ll discover destinations to fit your interests. Visit our diverse sites and the vibrant communities nearby. Each place offers a unique experience and history for everyone.

Learn more and plan your visit! 

When Dinosaurs Ruled North Dakota

North Dakota looked and felt very different 65 million years ago. It was once as warm as South Florida. There were no plains, valleys, and badlands. Instead, the land was covered with woodlands, ponds, and swamps in the west and an ocean in the east. Exotic plants and animals, including dinosaurs, lived here. 

Learn more in North Dakota Studies.

Oct. 9 Little Kids, Big World: What's an Archives? 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck 
Oct. 9 State Archives Open, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Oct. 14 Dinner with Dakota the Dinomummy, 5:30-7:30 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Oct. 15-16 Confluence Sewing and Quilting, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.  Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston
Oct. 16 Dakota the Dinomummy Exhibit Opening, ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Oct. 21 Confluence History Book Club, 7 p.m. Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston
Oct. 21 Tour of the Solar System, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m. All ages welcome. North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck.
Oct. 22 Northern Lights, 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m. All ages welcome. North Dakota Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck.
Oct. 23 Little Kids, Big World: Leaf Printing, 2:30 and 3 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck
Oct. 23 Cemetery Walk at Fort Buford, 6-8 p.m. followed by refreshments at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center, Fort Buford State Historic Site near Williston
Oct. 30 Chateau Macabre, 5-7 p.m. Chateau de Morès State Historic Site, Medora
Oct. 30 Little Kids, Big World: Halloween Fun! 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. ND Heritage Center & State Museum, Bismarck 
Oct. 31 Halloween Open House at Former Governors' Mansion State Historic Site, 6-9 p.m. Bismarck

For information on these and other programs sponsored by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, go to history.nd.gov/events.