Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Arts and science center in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science is a multi-floor building in downtown Sioux Falls that brings together art galleries, a science center, a performance theater, and a planetarium under one roof. The different sections are spread across several floors connected through a central lobby, so visitors can move between them without leaving the building.
The building was constructed in the late 1800s as a high school using stone from a nearby quarry and served the city as an education center for decades. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1980s before being converted into a cultural center later that decade.
The galleries inside regularly show work by artists from the Great Plains region alongside crafts rooted in Northern Plains tribal traditions. Walking through the exhibition spaces gives a real sense of what shapes artistic life in this part of South Dakota.
A single ticket covers all sections of the building, which makes planning your visit straightforward. It is worth setting aside a good amount of time, since the mix of exhibitions, performances, and screenings can easily fill several hours.
The Sweetman Planetarium inside uses a dome projection system that covers the entire ceiling of the room, placing visitors directly beneath a moving sky. This type of full-dome setup is rarely found in cities of this size, making it one of the more out-of-the-ordinary things to experience in Sioux Falls.
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