South Dakota Air and Space Museum

A Box Elder museum focused on Cold War aircraft and missiles tied to Ellsworth Air Force Base and South Dakota aerospace history.

Box Elder, SD

About South Dakota Air and Space Museum

This museum sits near Ellsworth Air Force Base and holds a large collection of aircraft, artifacts, and documents from the base's Cold War years. Exhibits cover bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, including examples of the B-29, B-52, B-1, Titan I, and Minuteman. Four galleries present military and civilian aerospace achievements over roughly the last century. The building itself once housed fighter aircraft on alert to respond to Soviet bombers. It is managed by the 28th Bomb Wing and is open year round.

#cold war
#air force
#aviation
#icbm
#military history

What's around here?

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

Sightseeing
Outdoor Adventure
Black Hills & Badlands
No admission fee
The official regional tourism association promoting travel across South Dakota's Black Hills and Badlands region.
4.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Museums
Family Favorite
Museum of Geology
No admission fee
A free campus museum showcasing Black Hills dinosaur fossils, Badlands mammal remains and minerals.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.8 mi awayMore like this
Museums
History Buff
Sioux Indian Museum
Under $25
Federal museum of historic and contemporary Lakota art, housed within the Journey Museum complex.
Transit: reachable by public transit
7.9 mi awayMore like this
Shopping
Local Gem
Prairie Edge Galleries
No admission fee
A downtown Rapid City trading post and gallery of Native American art, crafts and jewelry.
Transit: reachable by public transit
8.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
Eat & Drink
Local Gem
Firehouse Brewing Company
Under $25
South Dakota's first brewpub, serving craft beer and Midwestern fare in a restored 1915 firehouse.
Transit: reachable by public transit
8.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Eat & Drink
Museums
History Buff
Rushmore Borglum Story
Under $25
A Keystone, SD museum on Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum, with models, tools and a full-size replica of Lincoln's carved eye.
24 mi awayMore like this