South Dakota Air and Space Museum

At the entrance to Ellsworth Air Force Base, just east of Rapid City, the South Dakota Air and Space Museum tells the story of one of the Cold War's most important bomber bases. Ellsworth was established in nineteen forty-one as a training ground for B-seventeen crews and grew into a nuclear strike command housing the B-twenty-nine, B-thirty-six, B-fifty-two, and eventually the B-one Lancer, which still operates here today.

The outdoor display includes more than two dozen aircraft, along with a Titan One and Minuteman missile that represent the intercontinental ballistic missile wings that once covered the surrounding prairie. The museum also features a Minuteman Two missile silo trainer, a mock-up used to train missile crews. Check the museum for current hours and admission.