Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum of South Dakota
The Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum are two great learning experiences in one location. While the Great Plains Zoo has plenty of live animals to see, while the Delbridge Museum contains collections of mounted animals from five continents. Both places offer a plethora of information on animals and their habitats.
The Great Plains Zoo sits on forty-five acres of land. Over five hundred animals from around the world are featured here in simulated natural habitats. While visiting the Great Plains Zoo, you not only can learn about the animals' habitats, but also what they eat, their size, how they reproduce, and how they protect themselves from predators. You can view all kinds of animals from parrots and flamingos to cheetahs and zebras. There is even a children's zoo where you can get face-to-face with some of the animals.
The Delbridge Museum is named after C.J. Delbridge who bought the collection of mounted animals from Henry Brockhouse and donated it to the city of Sioux Falls. Mr. Delbridge's donation was contingent upon the city agreeing to build a suitable institution to house the collection. It is presumed that most of the animals in the Delbridge Museum were mounted between the mid-1950's and 1976 because that is when Henry Brockhouse did most of his hunting.
Don't forget to stop at the Zootopia Gift Shop before leaving the Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum so that you can pick up a souvenir from your adventure.
Admission to the Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum is approximately $7 for adults and $4 for children; however, children under the age of two are admitted free.
