4 ways to discover S.D. ‘Great Finds’ while staying warm indoors

This paid piece is sponsored by the South Dakota Department of Transportation.

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you have to hole up and hibernate in your home.

There is still plenty to explore in the “State of Create” with many offerings indoors to keep away from the cold and snow.

Learn about South Dakota’s rich cultural and artistic history in the southeast corner of the state with these four State of Create wonders. You’ll learn about famous South Dakotan artists and the state’s homesteaders, and you’ll celebrate the role of music in our lives — all within a couple hours’ drive of Sioux Falls.

Hear a ‘Mona Lisa’ of music played at the National Music Museum

Don’t just marvel at the unique instruments on display at the National Music Museum in Vermillion. If you visit the museum at the end of February, you’ll have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to hear a professional musician play on a 250-year-old piano.

The Antunes grand piano is one of the earliest, best-preserved grand pianos known to survive, and the instrument will be played by professional musician Catalina Vicens at noon Sunday.

The National Music Museum is internationally known for its collections, which include the “Magna Carta and Mona Lisa” of the musical world, said Carol Robertson, manager of membership and communications. The collections even include a violin cello from Italy made in the mid-1500s, which Robertson calls the “crown jewel” of the collection.

“This is a one-of-a-kind collection and experience,” Robertson said. “You can see instruments you won’t see anywhere else, and these instruments don’t stand alone – they’re in great company.”

In addition to Vicens’ performance, the museum is holding a series of Friday noon concerts on March 3 and 19, April 14 and May 5.

The museum is free until August while the museum features its 50-year anniversary with its “Good as Gold” exhibit after reopening in 2021. The museum was closed for three years as it underwent extensive renovations.

“It’s the best of the best and the oldest of everything,” Robertson said. “It’s definitely a stop for folks across the state.”

The National Music Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Experience early settler life in South Dakota

Learn the history of the people who homesteaded South Dakota in the late 1800s by visiting the Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman.

The museum has one of the largest collections of artifacts demonstrating the history of southeastern South Dakota, mostly settled by German Russians.

The museum features an 1880s pioneer home with a grass-burning furnace, churches and a schoolhouse on-site, as well as motorcycles, buggies, agriculture equipment and a 1927 biplane.

“That’s one people remember,” said Marnette Hofer, executive director and archivist at the museum. “People don’t expect a small-town museum to have an airplane hanging.”

The museum’s latest exhibit focuses on the natural world of the homesteading prairie, featuring stories of survival and perseverance in the face of forces of nature such as blizzards, prairie fires, floods and more. The exhibit will be open by the end of March – just in time for Schmeckfest – and also will feature dinosaur fossils found in the area.

The museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays, with additional hours during Schmeckfest and from May through September.

Admire professional and student art in Vermillion

Walk across the University of South Dakota campus and there’s artwork in almost every space you’ll go. That’s the goal of the University Art Galleries at USD, said Amy Fill, director of the galleries.

The galleries are primarily in the Warren M. Lee Center for Fine Arts, but the artwork also includes a sculpture walk and a gallery of South Dakota legendary artist Oscar Howe’s works in the historic Old Main building.

That art helps start conversations among people, Fill said.

“It allows people to not necessarily escape themselves but engage with something outside themselves. They learn about other cultures, another person’s experiences or other ways of seeing and expressing something,” Fill said.

The galleries will host a show called the “Articulation of Nuance and Time” from March through April featuring abstract artwork, Fill said. The galleries also are holding student exhibits for the remainder of the spring semester.

The galleries are open from 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays.

Find unique local art in Avon

The Johnny Swatek Fine Arts studio in Avon is a studio, shop and gallery space. Owner and artist Johnny Swatek specializes in oil canvases, ranging from rural landscapes to commissioned portraits.

“I take a lot of pride in what I do, and it seems to have a broad range in appeal to people,” Swatek said.

Swatek estimates 60 percent of his work is commissioned pieces, which he calls an honor.

The fine arts studio is open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

State of Create

All four stops are part of the State of Create passport program through Travel South Dakota. To learn more and begin discovering new destinations, click here.