Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center

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Accessible Rooms, Accessible Sites, Cellular Signal, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Information, Information - Maps Available, Parking - Auto, Parking - Boat Trailer, Parking - Bus/RV, Restroom, Restroom - Accessible, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Water - Drinking/Potable

From late July to early September of 1804, the Corps of Discovery traveled up the Missouri between today’s states of Iowa and Nebraska – specifically in the vicinity of Sioux City, Iowa. 

In a beautiful park right along the banks of the Missouri stands an impressive 20,000-square-foot Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center where visitors will enjoy an impressive collection of permanent exhibits that focus on the Expedition’s story from July to September 1804.  At the center of the story is the death and burial of Sergeant Charles Floyd on August 20, 1804.

The Expedition as a military operation comes to life in murals and exhibits that use interactive devices, computers, flip books, stamping stations, text-and-graphic panels, lift-and-drop panels, a brass-rubbing station, and reproductions of military equipment. 

The Interpretive Center is filled with technology, including the unique Keelboat Theater, where guests can view the 15-minute film, “A Visit with William Clark.”  And throughout the Center, everyone enjoys the realistic animatronic characters of Thomas Jefferson, Captains Lewis and Clark, Sergeant Charles Floyd, and Seaman and his new friend, a prairie dog.  

Adult guests will enjoy touring the Center on their own and school and other youth groups can participate in one of four different tours, which vary from one hour, two hours, or longer.  

Connected to the Interpretive Center is the Betty Strong Encounter Center which serves a permanent mission of “commemorating a history of encounters” that occurred before and after the expedition. It hosts free photo and art exhibitions, and offers free programs, events and activities that explore themes of the land, rivers and people of the region. Themes are as diverse as agriculture, Mighty Mo fishing, heritage food and music, and Native Games days.  The 10,000-square foot Encounter Center features galleries, an activity room, an amphitheater, and areas for outdoor games and events. The Stanley Evans Auditorium hosts lectures, music and theatre programs, movies and panel discussions. An enclosed pathway known as “The River Connection” invites visitors to encounter maps and images of the Missouri River.

The Interpretive Center and Betty Strong Encounter Center are both open Tuesday – Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 5 p.m.  Admission is free.  Access is easy, just off I-29, at 900 Larsen Park Road.  

While in the Sioux City area, you’ll want to visit the Charles Floyd Monument, just five miles from the Centers.  Here on a bluff overlooking the Missouri, you can honor the memory of the first U.S. soldier to die west of the Mississippi River. 

For more information on the Sioux City Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and the Betty Strong Encounter Center, go to: www.siouxcitylcic.com.