Experience the Journey

Discover Siouxland’s history and culture

Latest Temporary Exhibits

Permanent Exhibits

Our permanent exhibits draw guests into an interactive journey with the Corps of Discovery through Siouxland by telling stories in novel ways, including moving and speaking animatronic figures, murals, video, computers, flip books, stamping stations, text-and-graphic panels, hand-painted murals, a brass-rubbing station, and reproductions of military equipment.

President Thomas Jefferson

Installed in 2016, the President Thomas Jefferson animatronic relates the president’s dreams about finding a direct water route to the Pacific Ocean to promote U.S. interests. The third U.S. president “instructs” Capt. Meriwether Lewis to learn and record all that he can about the people and natural environment of the West, including present-day Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska.

Captains Lewis and Clark

Captains Lewis and Clark animatronics give visitors an inside look at how the Captains and their men were affected by the death of Sgt. Charles Floyd, the only member of the expedition to die during the expedition in present-day Sioux City, Iowa. The Captains stand at Floyd’s burial site, discussing the death of Floyd, the election of Pvt. Patrick Gass as the new sergeant to replace Floyd, and the desertion of Pvt. Moses Reed.

Sgt. Charles Floyd

The Center’s  animatronic, Sergeant Charles Floyd,  focuses on the young man’s experience in the Corps of Discovery. “Sgt. Floyd” is seated on a crate by the Missouri River shore on a clear August 1804 evening in the present-day Sioux City area. The young man from Kentucky “speaks” about his readiness to serve as one of the three sergeants. He shares his dream of seeing the Corps’ ultimate destination: 8the Pacific Ocean. The voice of “Pvt. Patrick Gass” then informs listeners of the young sergeant’s untimely death of natural causes on August 20, 1804.

York

York, the enslaved servant of Captain William Clark, was a member of the Corps of Discovery Expedition, working side by side with the soldiers. He is credited in the Captain’s journal as helping care for Sgt. Floyd during his illness and death. The exhibit has York relating his thoughts and feelings about his life and being on the expedition.

Seaman the Newfoundland Dog

In this display, Seaman the Newfoundland dog animatronic greets an animatronic prairie dog as a herd of bison graze nearby in the western prairie grasses. Capt. Lewis purchased the dog for $20 near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He named him Seaman. Seaman became a valuable member of the Corps of Discovery. His large size, helpful attitude, and swimming ability made him well equipped to serve on the expedition.

Near Lynch, Nebraska, the Corps and Seaman attempted to coax a “barking squirrel” (prairie dog) from its hole. They finally caught one and kept it in captivity until April 1805 when it was sent down the Missouri River to President Thomas Jefferson.

Corps of Discovery’s Keelboat

The Center’s exhibit, the Corps of Discovery’s Keelboat, is a replica of the barge used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The replica is one twenty-fifth of the size of the 55-by-8-feet keelboat used by the Corps.

Constructed in the summer of 1803, the keelboat was the Corps of Discovery’s main transportation during the first year of the expedition. The barge traveled over 1,000 miles and carried 12 tons of cargo, including valuable items such as food, medicine, and scientific equipment.

After wintering in present-day North Dakota, the keelboat returned to St. Louis manned by a small crew. But it did not return empty handed; the Captains loaded the boat with plant and animal specimens, notes from the journey, and Native articles. The Captains and their crew would proceed without the boat for the remainder of the journey.

“Commemorative Stamps of the Expedition” Exhibit

The “Commemorative Stamps of the Expedition” display looks at the Lewis and Clark-themed stamps issued for the 150th anniversary of the Corps of Discovery’s journey to the Pacific Ocean.

In February 1954, Iowa Senator Charles B. Hoven introduced a bill to create a commemorative stamp honoring the expedition. Later that year, Postmaster Arthur Summerfield announced that the stamp would be issued in Sioux City, Iowa, as the city was the final resting place of the expedition member Sgt. Charles Floyd. Sgt. Floyd died from what historians believe to be appendicitis on August 20, 1804 and was buried on a bluff next to the river.

The 3-cent stamp was designed by Charles R. Chickering with design input from Bernard DeVoto, a well-known American West historian and author of the time. The burgundy stamp features an image of Captain Meriwether Lewis, Captain William Clark, and Sacagawea landing on a Missouri riverbank.

Other stamps were produced featuring the Captains individually as well as featuring Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury at the time of the expedition. Gallatin arranged the financial details of the purchase of the Louisiana Territory, ensuring that taxes would not be raised. He assisted in preparation for the expedition by arranging the creation of a new map of the west that combined the nine most recent maps of the land.

“Percy the Pelican’s Adventures” Video Game

Months in the planning, the Sioux City Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in collaboration with Western Iowa Tech Community College (WITCC) and Mytopia Gameware Institute (MGI) released an innovative, hands-on videogame: “Percy’s Adventures” in the fall of 2021.

The game introduces visitors of all ages to the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the events that occurred in Siouxland. Visitors will play as “Percy the Pelican,” the Center’s Kids’ Club mascot. As the character “Percy,” visitors encounter a series of challenges from choosing correct supplies, navigating mazes, and going fishing to successfully reach the end.

WITCC instructor Steven Chinn and Frank Heffner from MGI, along with dedicated interns, consulted on and constructed the game. Joe Hlas, the Center’s facility manager, designed and installed the exhibit setting. The Center’s Sara Olson drafted the game’s storyboard. Sara Bogenrief, Scott Tucker, and John Sage and others from the community helped to bring the games to life.