Updated: 12/12/2019 
McCrossan Boys Ranch - Visitor Center Museum
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Description

The new Robert L. Nielsen Visitor Center is now open! Museum * Event Center * Gift Shop

We provide historical presentations about non-profit McCrossan’s Boys Ranch that reaches out to troubled boys who have experienced conflict in their lives.

Mission

Providing New Hope for a Better Life.

History

For more than 64 years, McCrossan Boys Ranch has changed the lives of many young boys. It is our goal to continue providing New Hope for a Better Life for many, many years to come.

Artifact Collections
Life-size statue of a draft horse - stands 18 hands-tall
Actual 1976 U.S. Bicentennial Wagon
Historical timeline mural from 1942 to present
Interactive fun facts about our farm animals
Highlighted stories of past residents
McCrossan’s Steinway baby grand piano
Bernard and Melinda McCrossan’s vision/donation story
Equine Assistance Psychotherapy facts
Historical presentations about McCrossan’s Boys Ranch
Interactive videos
Nature trails coming soon!
and, photos, articles, archives and more ...
Programs

We provide historical presentations to various groups.

Facilities

The Visitor Center also holds an event center which can be rented for meetings, small conferences and gatherings.

Meeting room seats 100 people.

Library

Access: Students, Staff Only

Appointment required: False

Services
Tours

Tours of the campus include the museum and barn with draft horses, cows, donkeys, goats, llamas and chickens. Campus Tours are available every Thursday at 2:30 pm for the general public. Tours or visits outside of business hours are available by calling at least 7 days prior to your visit.

Gift Shop

Gift shop featuring McCrossan logo products and other locally-made products, snacks and beverages. For example, you’ll find several McCrossan logo items here such as t-shirts in various colors, logo caps and coffee mugs. We have signed prints of John Green’s painting “Hope Lives” which depicts a McCrossan staff and boy on a plow behind draft horses, as well as other various on-site scenes. There are also cookbooks, card sets, iron signs, printed bandannas and western ornaments. New items created by the McCrossan boys and local artisans coming soon!

Meeting and event room

Meeting room for presentations and catered meals.

We can all do more ...

Together, we can do more than we can do alone. Let's bring our abilities and passions together to affect real change—contact us to learn more!

Gift Shop
Group Tours
DISCLAIMER
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MUSEUM CONFERENCES

April 27 - April 29, 2025

Oregon Museum Association 2025 Conference

TBA

Independence, Oregon

Beginning in 2025, the OMA annual conference will be held in Spring rather than Fall

The conference this year is all about trying new things. We are hoping to organize the conference into the following four tracks: Collections Care, Leadership, Emergency Preparedness, and Tourism

Check our website for more details in early 2025

The OMA newsletter is emailed every month with updates on OMA events, museum news, other events, trainings, jobs, grants and more for the museum community in Oregon.

For more information, please email connect@oregonmuseums.org.

October 1 - October 4, 2025

Western Museums Association’s (WMA) 2025 Annual Meeting

TBA

Reno, Nevada

Save the Date for WMA 202

As we celebrate our 90th anniversary, join us to build relationships and soar higher than ever before. With the theme of ELEVATE, WMA 2025 will explore ways to lift up the experiences of cultural professionals and the communities they serve.

In Reno, Nevada, 4,400 feet above sea level, we will forward the progress of museums by looking to the future.

May 6 - May 9, 2025

2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) ANNUAL MEETING & MUSEUMEXPO

Los Angeles Convention Center

Los Angeles, California

AAM 2025 will focus on the theme, Museums & Trust.

Museums have long inspired high levels of public trust, surpassing news outlets, government organizations, researchers and scientists, corporations, and social media platforms. This consistent finding underscores our institutions’ unique position in society as stewards of knowledge, culture, science, and history—areas where credibility and reliability are paramount

In an era marked by mistrust and misinformation, museums have a rare ability to counterbalance the proliferation of false narratives and polarized perspectives. Using our trusted position, we can cultivate a more healthy, empathetic, and informed society.

But to do so, we must maintain our credibility proactively, embracing thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative practices that will defend against influences like bias, resource challenges, abuse of power, and social injustice

An Incredible MuseumExpo

AAM is again partnering this year with the Museum Store Association to host an incredible combined expo hall. Find the most innovative services, products, and solutions in the museum field. With 350 exhibitors, you are bound to find the right partner for your museum’s current challenges and opportunities.

May 5 - May 9, 2025

Museum Store Association FORWARD 2025 in LA

The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles, California

Join MSA in LA

We’re excited about our next MSA FORWARD Conference & Expo in “The City of Angels” – Los Angeles, California in conjunction with the American Alliance of Museums

Join the Museum Store Association (MSA) and hundreds of nonprofit retail professionals for the 70th Annual MSA FORWARD Retail Conference & Expo, taking place May 5-9, 2025 at The Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California

Once again, MSA FORWARD will be held in conjunction with the 2025 American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Annual Meeting & Expo

Learn best practices and new ideas for store merchandising, operations, marketing, and sale

Participate in dedicated networking events and create connections that will inspire new ideas

Meet with over 200 MSA vendors about your product needs

Hear from knowledgeable industry experts during session breakouts and keynote presentations

Network with AAM attendees and exhibitor

September 10 - September 13, 2025

2025 Am Assoc for State and Local History Annual Conference

TBD

Cincinnati, Ohio

The 2025 AASLH Annual Conference, in partnership with Ohio Local History Alliance, will take place as the history field makes the final preparations to kickoff off the 250th commemoration of the founding of the United States.

The 2025 conference theme, inspired by AASLH’s Making History at 250: The Field Guide for Semiquincentennial, is an opportunity to broadly explore one of the guide’s themes, The American Experiment. For many in the American colonies in 1776, independence from Britain represented a “leap into the dark” into an unknown future

We are excited for you to join us in Cincinnati as we encourage discussion about our democracy and civic institutions and how they can help strengthen understanding, inspire action, and reveal ways that all of us can participate in and shape the ongoing American experiment.

For more information, please call 615-320-3203 or email info@aaslh.org.

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