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National Music Museum, Vermillion, SD

Photo: Bpillow062, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

MuseumsHistory BuffRainy-Day PickLocal Gem

National Music Museum

414 E Clark St · Vermillion, SD

Why you should go…

The National Music Museum, founded in 1973 on the University of South Dakota campus, fills the 1910 Carnegie Library and the newer Lillibridge Wing with 12 reimagined exhibition galleries. You can see one of two known Stradivari mandolins, a Stradivari guitar, and one of only two surviving 18th-century grand pianos with a Cristofori-type action. The museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate and hosts concerts.

  • #music museum
  • #musical instruments
  • #smithsonian affiliate
  • #university museum

Good to know

General museums guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Check the special exhibition separately

    Touring shows usually carry their own ticket and their own opening hours, listed apart from general admission.

  • Look for the free window

    Many museums run community days, member evenings, or discounted late openings. It is worth a look before you pay full price.

  • Travel light through the door

    Large bags and backpacks often have to go to a coat check, and lines for it move slowly at opening.

  • Weekday mornings beat weekend afternoons

    School groups clear out by early afternoon midweek, while weekends stay busy from late morning on.

What's around here?

The closest stops to National Music Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Attractions
    Iconic

    Crazy Horse Memorial

    $25–$50

    See the Crazy Horse Memorial mountain carving in progress, honoring the Lakota leader in South Dakota's Black Hills.

    35 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Family Favorite

    Wild Water West Waterpark

    Under $25

    South Dakota's largest waterpark, with a wave pool, lazy river and a six-story waterslide.

    50 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Thunder Road Family Fun Park

    Under $25

    A Sioux Falls family entertainment park with go-karts, mini golf, bumper boats and an arcade.

    54 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Museums
    Free Entry

    Pettigrew Home & Museum

    Free

    Free guided tours of the 1889 Queen Anne home of South Dakota's first U.S. senator in Sioux Falls' Cathedral district, with his own artifact museum attached at the back.

    54 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Siouxland Heritage Museums

    Free

    Two free Sioux Falls history museums: the Old Courthouse Museum and the Pettigrew Home and Museum.

    54 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Free Entry

    Old Courthouse Museum

    Free

    Free regional history museum in an 1890s quartzite courthouse in downtown Sioux Falls, with three floors of exhibits, a restored courtroom and 16 early-1900s murals.

    54 mi awayMore like this