BROOKINGS – Power to the People: Electrifying Rural South Dakota, an exhibit at the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum, will close Aug. 15 after being on display since 2019. It explains how electricity changed life on the farm in the home and in the barns, especially for dairies and hatcheries.
“For the past three years, families and school tours have enjoyed playing with the circuit boards, exploring the 1949 farmhouse and learning about rural electrification. It is another example of how we incorporate history with science in our exhibits,” said Gwen McCausland, director of the South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum.
This exhibit explains how farmers used wind turbines to produce electricity, the history of rural electric cooperatives, and how it improved life in the home. This exhibit has an interactive circuit board and a pedal-powered light meter to explore the science of electricity.
The South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum thanks its sponsors Basin Electric, East River Cooperative, Sioux Valley Energy and H&D Cooperative, in addition to its longest supporter, the late Coral Bonnemann, for making this exhibit possible.
