History + Culture + Science = SD Ag Heritage Museum
Whether our backgrounds are rural or urban, agriculture plays a crucial role in our daily lives. It is from the food we consume to the clothes we wear to the products we use. We are asking you to consider a gift to preserve South Dakota's rich agricultural history, to provide educational programming for all ages and to build award-winning exhibits that educate and inspire.
More Than a Tractor Museum
The South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum is dedicated to inspiring passion for the diverse history, culture, and science of agriculture in South Dakota. As the state’s official repository of agricultural history, the museum collects history as it happens, introducing science, technology, and engineering into its exhibits and programs. It tells the story of rural life in South Dakota. The museum has a solid baseline of funding but needs additional support to grow.
We preserve our agricultural history. from the moment humans domesticated plants and animals, spanning onward to the modern technology of the present, we preserve and display the many facets of agriculture in South Dakota.
We explain the science. Our exhibits and programming focus on agriculture, but they also teach about the science, technology, engineering, and math steeped within it. 
We showcase rural life. There are folk traditions and a special culture found within the of production of food and fiber in South Dakota. We document and share the stories of the families and communities that make agriculture in our state unique.
Cultivating our future
We envision a museum where the community comes together to share, explore, and learn about agriculture in South Dakota, past and present. Less than 7% of South Dakotans are farmers, the museum is about connecting diverse audiences to the important role agriculture plays in their daily lives through educational programming and exhibits. The museum’s archives and artifacts documents how agriculture has shaped our society in South Dakota and connecting us to our past. Be part of it!
Your donation at work
Each donation helps support the expenses of three main areas: preserving the collection, educational programming, and exhibits (in-house and online). Here are examples of your donations at work.
• $80 - Supplies for a club activity or school tour
• $100 - 10 packages of archival photograph sleeves
• $250 - 12 archival document boxes
• $500 - Exhibit signage stand
• $1000 – Video editing of a documentary
• $3500 - Sponsorship of one student for 320 hours, digitizing the photograph collection
• $5,000 – Design of an interactive kiosk
About us
The South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum is the official repository of agricultural history in South Dakota. Our mission is to inspire a passion for the history, culture, and science of agriculture in South Dakota. Our vision is to preserve agricultural history while connecting multi-generational audiences to the importance of agriculture in our daily lives. We are a small, dedicated team: Gwen McCausland (Director), Carrie Van Buren (Collections Coordinator), Sarah Jacobs (Education Coordinator), and Michelle Glanzer (Patron Services Coordinator). We also hire SDSU students and receive support from volunteers who help us carry out our mission.
Find us here
Want to learn more and stay up-to-date? Check out our website: www.AgMuseum.com.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @sdAgMuseum.
Visit our museum on the SDSU campus: 977 11 Street, Brookings. We offer free admission!
Help us succeed!
You can help us succeed in more ways than one! Please share this with anyone you think would support us: on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence, or on your blog.
