Sioux City – Things to do with your Team
Sioux City is a city that’s founded on hundreds of years of American history. The area’s original inhabitants were the Yankton Sioux, as recorded by Spanish and French fur trappers who were the first to reach the region back in the 18th century.
The first U.S. citizens to venture through where Sioux City is currently located were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark while on their storied expedition westward towards the Pacific coast.
Now, you and your team can have a memorable expedition of your own during your stay. Because of the area’s prominent historical and geographical significance as the navigational head of the Missouri River, there are a variety of museums, historical sites, and outdoor attractions for you and your team to enjoy while in Sioux City.
The Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
The Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center lets you and your team relive the famous explorers’ storied expedition. This popular Sioux City destination features permanent exhibits showcasing the Corps of Discovery’s time in the present-day Sioux City area in the summer of 1804.
Lewis and Clark’s expedition comes to life through the use of interactive devices and other captivating sights, including animatronic mannequins, flip books, stamping and brass-rubbing stations, hand painted murals, reproductions of military equipment, and more.
Since you’ll be visiting with your team, you’ll definitely all want to check out their fascinating Traditional Native Games exhibit. There you’ll find more than two dozen reproductions of game equipment used by Native Americans based on original artifacts housed at the Buechel Lakota Memorial Museum in South Dakota.
Free admission makes the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center even more of a must-see during your stay in Sioux City. 900 Larsen Park Rd, Sioux City, IA 51103
Palmer’s Old Tyme Candy Shoppe
If there’s anyone in your group with a major sweet tooth, you need to stop by Palmer’s Old Thyme Candy Shoppe while you’re in Sioux City.
Don’t let the name fool you; it’s more than just your average candy store. Not only can you pick up some delicious treats like Palmer’s famous Twin Bing, a candy bar made of cherry nougat covered in a hash of roasted peanuts and chocolate, and Palmer memorabilia like hats, bags, and t-shirts you can also learn more about the history of the Palmer Candy Company as you check out their retired candy making equipment, vintage photos, and other cool historical items.
Although this Sioux City landmark is free to visit, you’ll be hard-pressed to leave without buying some delicious confections. 405 Wesley Pkwy, Sioux City, IA 51103
Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center
Built in 1932 and named for Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only member of Lewis and Clark’s expedition to die on trek to the Pacific Northwest, the M.V. Sergeant Floyd was a working boat used by the Missouri River Division of the Corps of Engineers for towing, surveying, and inspection work.
Now the Sergeant Floyd, permanently dry-docked in Sioux City, serves as the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center. There you and your team can learn about the history of the Missouri River, Sioux City, Lewis and Clark’s expedition, and more through rare photos, artifacts, and dioramas. The Sergeant Floyd also houses America’s largest exhibit of scale Missouri River steamboat and keelboat models.
After learning about the Missouri River onboard the Sergeant Floyd, take your team for a stroll alongside it on the nearby riverfront walking trail.
Admission is free, making a visit to the Sergeant Floyd River Museum and Welcome Center an affordable and worthwhile way to spend a few hours of downtime in Sioux City. Group tours are available by reservation. 1000 Larsen Park Rd, Sioux City, IA 51103
Stone State Park and Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center
Get out the hotel room and into the scenic beauty of Stone State Park. Although it’s located within the city limits of Sioux City, you’ll feel as if you’re miles away from any civilization, especially that of Iowa’s fourth largest city, in this remote park.
While the park may feel remote that doesn’t mean there’s any shortage of fun things to see and do there with your team. Stone State Park features an extensive, well-maintained trail system as well as picnic tables, shelters, restrooms, and water fountains dotted all throughout the park.
What makes Stone State Park unique however, is the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center. The center offers visitors an opportunity to learn about this region of the Loess Hills through variety of interpretive displays, including a “walk-under” prairie, a 400-gallon aquarium stocked with fish native to the regions, museum-quality dioramas, and more.
If you’re visiting the center with young children they’ll have a lot of fun getting the chance to handle furs, antlers, fossils, and other cool artifacts at the children’s discovery area.
The Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center is open year-round and is closed only on Mondays and select holidays. Admission is free. 5001 Talbot Rd, Sioux City, IA 51103
LaunchPAD Children’s Museum
LaunchPAD Children’s Museum is the area’s premiere play and discovery zone, specially-designed for young minds from six months to 10 years old. The “PAD” in LauchPAD stands for “Play and Discover,” which is exactly what the kids on your team will be doing there.
LaunchPAD’s various exhibits reflect locals themes such as water, wind, building, and more, as well as a farm-to-table theme which runs throughout various facets of the museum, including their agricultural exhibits and cafe. Exhibits at LaunchPAD are open-ended to help children’s creativity and curiosity skyrocket. 623 Pearl St, Sioux City, IA 51101
Sioux City Public Museum
Located in the heart of Sioux City’s downtown area, the Sioux City Public Museum features large, colorful exhibits, interactive displays, and more that are sure to captivate the interest of everyone in your group, no matter their age.
You’ll discover the “Spirit of Sioux City” though a lively 12-minute orientation film in the ornate “Corn Palace Theater” and the discovery will continue as you and your team explore the many hands-on experiences located throughout the museum. These include the award-winning Innovation I-Wall and The Big Dig, which replicates an active fossil dig site. The Sioux City Public Museum also hosts a variety of temporary exhibits showcasing local history through artifacts from the museum’s collection as well as private collections.
Before you leave, take the team to the Sioux City Public Museum Store so they can bring a piece of Sioux Falls history back home with them. Admission to the museum is free. 607 4th St, Sioux City, IA 51101
The Sioux City Railroad Museum
The Sioux City Railroad Museum, a 30-acre museum site nestled in between the scenic Loess Hills and the Big Sioux River, is located on the premises of the historic Milwaukee Railroad Shops.
The Milwaukee Railroad Shops were a large industrial complex built back in 1917 that serviced and repaired locomotives and railcars for 65 years.
The Sioux City Railroad Museum has preserved and restored what remained from the original facility and now showcases these rare artifacts and architecture for visitors like you and your team to get the opportunity to learn more about such an important and influential time for U.S. industrial history. 3400 Sioux River Road, Sioux City, IA 51109
Mid America Museum of Aviation and Transportation
At the Mid America Museum of Aviation and Transportation you and your team will step back in time to encounter unique artifacts and exhibits that help to tell the exciting story of aviation and transportation’s role in U.S. history.
There you’ll find a wide variety of displays and exhibits featuring full size aircraft like a Boeing 727-200 and surface transportation like vintage bicycles, automobiles, and a fire engine.
Spanning 30,000 square feet, you and your team could spend anywhere from an hour to a whole day at this Sioux City gem; but with so much to see there chances are it’ll be the latter. 2600 Expedition Ct, Sioux City, IA 51111
A trip to Sioux City is a journey back in time, but not to one particular point. Sioux City is the convergence point for many significant moments in American history, including Lewis and Clark’s expedition in the early 19th century, the opening of the first electric-powered elevated railway in the world, and more. Even if you aren’t a group of hardcore history buffs, you and your team will have a fantastic time learning about what makes Sioux City so special.