- This is a production of - SDPB A family vacation isn't just about sightseeing.

In South Dakota it could inspire future scientists.

- It's one of the great things about paleontology in general, is that it's a great kind of gateway science into the broader world of science for kids where they see dinosaurs and mammoths and they get really, really excited.

- The students that we're visiting with today are the, the stem and technical - workforce of tomorrow.

So put on a hard hat or maybe just a thinking cap.

We're learning how the prehistoric past and particle research work together to educate locals and visitors alike.

Science and tourism.

that's tonight's South Dakota Focus.

- South Dakota Focus is made possible with help from our members.

Thank you.

And by Black Hills State University and Cody, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park.

- Tourism drives economic development in many South Dakota communities.

But in Hot Springs, a housing development uncovered a unique opportunity.

In 1974, developers uncovered a seven foot tusk.

Further excavation found an unprecedented number of mammoth fossils.

The landowner donated the fossils to create the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs.

It's both a research site and a tourist attraction.

This year, the site is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Chris Jass is the director of research at the Mammoth Site.

- If we had come in, if the site in 74 had been done like a lot of traditional paleo digs, they probably would've come in removed everything, and the construction project would've continued.

Here, because we have the building, we can take our time and as new analytical techniques come along as new, new methods of understanding the past come along, we can actually apply those to the site.

For a long time, we thought the site was roughly 26,000 years old.

Some subsequent work in the past few years suggests that the site is actually much older than that.

- In fact, parts of the site are now believed to be around 190,000 years old.

That paints a very different picture of the environment and relationships among fossils.

Dr. Jass takes us to the bone bed where digging continues.

- One of the things I love about standing down here is if you look up the original height of the hill, when they started bulldozing was pretty close to where the two beams meet.

So you stand down here and you go, wow, if the edges of the sinkhole were up there, and yeah, there would've been times when water was probably overflowing.

This was deep.

There was a lot of water in here.

And you think about being a 20,000 pound animal that doesn't really have a foot structure for climbing, and you're trying to claw your way up, you don't have claws.

So you're trying to scoot your way up out of a very slippery walled deposit.

It must have been utter chaos and stress for these, for these animals, - Even tens of thousands of years later.

There's a tinge of sadness to the fate of these giants.

So you take the humor where you can.

And you were, you were mentioning before this, this fellow has a name.

- Napoleon.

Yeah.

Yeah.

This is Napoleon Bone Apart.

I take no responsibility for the names, so, but yes, this is Napoleon.

Actually, Napoleon's one of the more complete mammoths here.

So one of the things that we have to consider as we move forward is do we take things like this out to dig deeper?

We know we could.

I would say 30 years ago, the site was very much just this much dig site and this much museum.

That balance has shifted a lot.

And one of the things that we have to consider when we think about the ongoing digging here is, you know, okay, if we take something like this out, if we take Napoleon out of here, one, we have to have a place to put in.

But two, how does that affect the visitor experience coming through here?

- And that visitor experience is critical to the site's future.

As a nonprofit.

the majority of the mammoth site's funding comes from admission fees, gift shop sales, and other visitor driven dollars.

Presston Gabel is the Chief Operating Officer of the Mammoth site.

He says, giving families the opportunity to get in on the action has been one of the site's greatest successes.

- Our Family Dig program, we started a couple years ago, has grown tremendously popular, and that happens four times a day.

And it allows families to dig together in a mock bone bed environment digging up replicas of our fossils in our actual dirt that came from the bone bed.

They learned a plaster jacket, they learned a map, they learn what our scientists do on a daily basis.

And it's just a fun hands-on programming that gets everybody involved.

- The site offers summer classes and other educational programs geared towards kids.

Seth Vandenberg is the science education lead at the site.

- It's one of the great things about paleontology in general is that it's a great kind of gateway science into the broader world of science for kids where they see dinosaurs and mammoths and they get really, really excited.

And then you can use that as kind of an entry point to talk about, you know, like, here's how ecosystems work, here's how, you know, different animals are adapted to different environments.

And it's really, really fun because as they start asking questions every once in a while, some one will ask a question that you're like, that'd actually be an awesome research paper.

And so it's cool to see 'em kind of, you know, thinking along the exact same lines that we are and getting, you know, kind of arriving at the same questions that we have.

- The Mammoth Site is a unique attraction, but its position at the southern tip of the Black Hills puts it just far enough out of the way for tourists visiting the more obvious attractions.

- You know, our biggest challenge is our geographical location.

You know, we're an hour south of Rapid City, 45 minutes south of Rapid City.

And so getting the people to understand that Hot Springs has so much to offer.

- In fact, hot Springs was one of the state's earliest tourism draws thanks to the natural hot springs that give the town its name.

Today's visitors still enjoy the springs, and the highway that runs through historic downtown is being updated for the first time since the mammoths were uncovered.

Josh Kropuenske is the executive director of the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce.

- I'm not sure there's another downtown in the Black Hills with quite as much history and architecture, so that's gonna be exciting.

But clearly having attractions in town that people wanna show up for is, is really critical.

- For instance, the Mammoth Site sees more than 100,000 visitors a year.

- I do think location is key.

You know, obviously we draw a lot from Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa.

I was at the Governor's conference on tourism back in January, and I know that Kansas City is now an expanding market for South Dakota.

- The annual Governor's conference on tourism is held in Pierre every January.

It draws hundreds of industry professionals from around the state.

That's when tourism Secretary Jim Hagen presents his yearly industry update.

- Here are the numbers hot off the press, and they are good and historic.

In 2023, we welcomed 14.7 million visitors in all time Record.

Yep.

Give yourselves a hand.

- 2023, set another record just under $5 billion in visitor spending.

The wide ranging economic impact of his industry is what drives Secretary Hagen Although it's fun, you know, it's a feather in your cap to say, oh yeah, we set another record this year.

To us, it's more about the economic impact.

I think about the 58,000 citizens South Dakotans who are either employed directly or indirectly because of tourism.

Tourism is creating $2.2 billion in household income for those South Dakotans And those are families who are out spending at our local stores, grocery stores, buying new cars, paying mortgages, those sort of things.

So that is really what drives us.

- But just as tourism has a statewide impact, so does the ongoing workforce shortage.

- It's, it's a struggle that's not specific to Hot Springs.

It's everywhere, whether it's the Hills or, or Sioux Falls.

I mean, it, there just seems to be a lack of available workforce.

And at the Chamber now we've, we're gonna start having conversations as to ways that we can start to alleviate some of that shortage.

- A similar conversation is happening among state agencies.

- One agency that we're looking forward to establishing closer ties with is the Department of Education and finding ways that we can, you know, share the message about the careers that can be found in tourism.

I think oftentimes when people stop to think about this industry, it's like, oh, I think of tourism and I think of a frontline worker, maybe someone who's waiting tables or working at the front desk of a hotel.

And those are really important jobs.

But this is, this is an industry that employs attorneys and accountants and graphic designers and marketing professionals and digital marketing professionals, transportation folks.

I mean, there's just so many different areas of tourism that where you can start a career and actually create a great living for yourself.

So working closely with them to, you know, get maybe our technical schools career and technical education components more ingrained in the industry and, and to see the possibilities that there are for students.

- It wouldn't be the first time tourism has partnered with education.

In 2020, the Department of Tourism created online lesson plans geared towards K-12 students during the pandemic.

Hagen still sees potential for additional online lessons centered on the department's latest stewardship initiative Forever 605.

It encourages respect for the state's natural resources.

It's not so outlandish for tourism tourism partner with educators considering one of the department's primary demographics.

- It's your traditional mom and dad kids in the home, mom making, usually making the vacation decision, but they have always been our bread and butter.

So it's those families for sure.

- As those families travel throughout the hills, it could be all too easy to miss the story of the world leading research happening about a mile underground.

The Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead is hoping to change that.

The Homestake mine was the largest and deepest underground gold mine in the Western Hemisphere.

Now it's the deepest underground science lab in the United States.

In the 1960s, chemist Ray Davis asked if he could use the protection of the earth to conduct an experiment.

He put a large tank filled with dry cleaning solution and a sensor in an unused cavern, nearly a mile underground to measure neutrinos.

Those are small particles that pass through matter.

That experiment eventually earned him a Nobel Prize.

In the early two thousands.

When the gold mine closed, then Governor Mike Rounds worked to convert it to a full-time science lab with a $70 million donation from T. Denny Sanford.

The Sanford Underground Research Facility or Surf was born.

The Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center opened in 2015.

It highlights the history of the mind and ongoing research into neutrinos and dark matter.

Kelly Kirk is the director of the Visitor center.

- Visitors can come and kind of through our exhibits, our kiosks, our interactive experiences really kind of get a sense of the, the scope of work that that is happening here.

And really, you know, the history of Nobel Prize winning science.

I'm gonna say the future of Nobel Prize winning science right here as well.

- Surf leaders believe the future of that research is sitting in today's classrooms.

Every summer lead hosts the largest free science fair in the state, Neutrino day.

Kirk says they saw more than 2200 visitors this year.

- The comments that you hear, right of kids who saw themselves in scientists who were presenting, and now they would like to take more STEM courses or maybe even pursue a science career themselves.

Kids who get to interact with scientists who are researching underground, ask their questions, maybe see their world a little bit differently because they get to see science all around them.

- The Visitor Center also offers tours during the summer months.

- We start in the visitor center and then we do kind of a historic tour of the community of Lead to learn a little bit more about this, this place where SURF is located.

And then we get to go up on a SURF property and go to the 1939 Yates hoist room, where we get to see the machinery that still moves people and machines underground.

- Today our tour was made even better with an enthusiastic tour guide born and raised here in Lead.

- So my name is Mariana Pitlick.

I am a guest support associate at Stanford Lab Home State Visitors Center.

I am 18 years old and I've been working here for about four or five years now.

I love my job so much, not only because of all the people you meet, we meet people from all around the world here, most often from France and Canada, if you can believe it.

I never thought those people could come to Lead, but here they are and it's so great to talk to all of them.

- The Sanford Homestake Visitor Center sees about 55,000 annual visitors.

Kelly Kirk says that stayed pretty consistent in recent years.

- And what we are seeing this year is a greater international visitation.

You know, last year I think we had about 20 countries visit us.

I think we're already over 30 for this summer.

- It was only August 1st.

On this day alone, the guest book recorded visitors from France, Canada, the Netherlands and Australia.

But that's not the only thing.

Pitlick loves about her job.

- Here at Stanford Underground Research Facility, we're doing a ton of experiments underground with particle physics, biology, geology, engineering, and countless other fields.

And I just get so excited anytime someone comes and talks to me about them, - This is the kind of enthusiasm SURF is hoping to spread across the state.

In Sioux Falls, the Washington Pavilion hosts the H2O workshop in its Kirby Science Center.

It's an interactive exhibit done in partnership with the research facility.

Mike Headley is the laboratory director for SURF.

We met at the Pavilion before.

He gave a presentation on the economic benefits of local science research.

- We can't take everyone underground, so it's really kind of hard to tell that story.

And so I think we've done a reasonable job in the Black Hills of sharing what we're doing.

But really, east River, we run into people all the time who are like, I, I've heard of you.

I have no idea what you're about.

And so really the partnership with the Pavilion, I mean, it was really a way for us to partner with one of the premier science facilities here in the state to help get out the word about not just SURF and what we're doing, but the science of water, which is really a big part of our maintaining the underground lab, is being able to remove water and treat it and do that responsibly.

- And when he says water management is a big concern, he means it.

Surf has removed 10 billion gallons of water from underground in the 16 years it's been operating.

- So we really want to be a good steward of the environment.

And so, you know, how we, how we deal with water and how we interact and interface with the environment on on that is really a big deal for us.

- Promoting STEM education is a personal mission for Headley, but not because he dreamed of being a scientist.

When he was a kid.

As a boy growing up in Brookings, he dreamed of being a fighter pilot.

- I actually did go in the Air Force for a while, but I built satellites and ground systems for satellites and really an incredibly stem heavy field that was, you know, I was classically trained or university trained as a computer scientist.

And being able to work with computers that are, you know, tens of thousands of miles up in orbit where you can't lay hands on it and if it has a malfunction, you have to figure out how to fix that from, you know, from here on the Earth.

And so I think the process of figuring out what I wanted to do when I grew up really kind of pushed me in a direction of science, technology, engineering, and math.

The, the dimension that SURF brings is we have an incredibly strong focus on K-12 STEM education.

And when Denny Sanford worked with then Governor Mike rounds to, for the $70 million donation, it wasn't just establishing a world leading research facility, but it was also creating very unique educational opportunities for our kids.

And as a father of a 16-year-old wanting to have, or opportunities for her to grow up in a state where there's great STEM opportunities was really a big deal for me.

And so that it really is one of the big areas that I, beyond world leading science that I get a lot of energy from is being involved with our K-12 STEM program and watching that grow over time.

- A space like this, H2O workshop fulfills the organization's mission of intergenerational learning.

Nicol Reiner is SURF's director of Education and Outreach.

- Parents might learn how to interact better with kids, like how to ask questions or how important just the hands-on play is.

And I know parents know that, but it's really easy to see when they're actually doing it.

So the kids might learn something about cause and effect, like how doing a certain motion impacts a ball or where the water goes or how to solve a problem.

Lots of problem solving when you're thinking about how to make things go in different places in this particular water exhibit.

And so parents have that chance to interact and they have a chance to think about then how, how do I keep asking questions and get my, my kiddo to keep engaging and keep wondering and keep being curious.

- Putting a resource like this in the state's largest city is no accident.

Sioux Falls sits at the intersection of the state's two major interstates, a key thoroughfare for in and out-of-state visitors.

The city is also leading an ever-growing arts and entertainment scene in the southeast corner of South Dakota.

In fact, this area of the state has out earned the Black Hills in visitor spending in the last couple of years.

It's a fact not lost on Jim Hagen, whose department partners with each region of the state to attract visitors.

- We're really only limited in our reach by resources in terms of our marketing dollars.

But we have a product, Jackie, that I, I would argue not many states have it in terms of having this universal appeal all across the entire country.

And, you know, to have that anchored by something like Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which really is on everybody's bucket list.

And then as people are seeing the progress now at Crazy Horse Memorial and wanting to see that and add it to their bucket list.

As people hear more and more and more about Sioux Falls and the way Sioux Falls is just bustling and growing and the arts and culture scene there, the culinary scene, but really just statewide.

- Museums, active research sites and other STEM related points of interest are also spread throughout South Dakota.

To that end, I ask Hagen, might there be a future in science tourism?

- You know, we've got some great hidden gems.

We've got a great observatory near Quinn, South Dakota that is phenomenal.

And I was there for the first time last summer and this observatory is great.

They have a great tour, they have great telescopes that whether you're going there at night or during the day that you know, you can explore space and learn more about astronomy.

So yeah, science tourism, I like that term.

And I, we've got a lot of just looking at, you know, the paleontology in the state, the history of dinosaurs, the dinosaurs that have been, that have been found here the most or the best preserved T-Rex in the entire world, you know, found near Faith, South Dakota.

So there's a lot as it relates to probably K-12 education and how we can tie in even more.

- These sites are valuable to local communities too.

- Lots of communities have educational resources, but they often don't have the resources to have something as grand as this is.

And so to have a place where lots of people come together is a really special opportunity Then so parents and families are traveling that they can come with their kids and they can play and they're playing with other kids that they've met from other communities or other areas.

So they have a chance to talk to each other.

They have a chance to meet new people.

They have a chance to interact socially.

- Back in Lead.

The Sanford Lab, Homestake Visitor Center offers year-round programming and field trips to capitalize on the unique opportunity for local students.

- Kids get to, to ask questions and see the world around them a little bit differently as they realize that not one of the answers to science are in a textbook, that there's still so much we don't know and that one day as they pursue these questions, they might be the ones to answer what we don't know today.

- There's a not so secret hope that these students might answer those questions right here at home.

- One of SURF's missions is to inspire learning across generations.

And we like to think that when we visit with students of all ages, that in inspiring their wonder and curiosity, they might come back as the next science intern, the next engineering intern.

They might participate in an experiment at their university that brings them back to SURF to go underground.

So we're really kind of, you know, those, the students that we're visiting with today are the, the stem and technical workforce of tomorrow.

Who are gonna be the ones who further answer the mysteries of the universe that the experiments underground are currently probing.

- These experiences can build confidence for local students, even if they're not directly involved with the science.

You'd never know.

Mariana Pitlick's confidence didn't come naturally at first.

She brings her high school speech and theater experience to her tours, but interacting with visitors helped her build interpersonal skills.

- When I first came here, you know, I was shy, nervous little eighth grader and just talking to people, understanding like where they're coming from, what their backgrounds are, what they're interested in, has really helped me understand how to interact with people a lot more.

And that was something I really struggled with before.

Being in theater for me is not just about performing on stage, it's not just about the great feats you can achieve.

It's connecting with people.

When you're on stage, you are looking, you're presenting a part of a character and hopefully that part of the character resonates with somebody in the audience.

And so they feel a greater connection to the piece being performed on stage.

That is the reason why I do what I do.

- While Pitlick invites visitors to consider the mysteries of the universe, underground mysteries of a different kind, inspire lead researcher Chris Jass at the Mammoth Site.

Turns out he got his start here as a tour guide.

- I've been affiliated with this place since I was 21 years old and I never failed to be inspired.

When I walk in here and when I talk to people coming through the site.

That's actually, I mean, this place shaped my view of what museums can be and there is something powerful to standing in the bone bed or standing above the bone bed seeing these animals right where they lived, right where they died.

It may sound kind of cheesy, but I do think that there is, there is something inspirational in that, that that strikes an emotional cord that you might not get if you're just looking at a bone on a shelf that's been removed from the field.

- The researchers at the Mammoth site are working to understand a world tens of thousands of years in the past, but a much more recent history continues to fuel South Dakota tourism today.

We'll learn how western history led to some visitors' favorite haunts, next time.

I discovered during our tour of surf that paleontologists aren't the only ones with a penchant for puns.

This might put you on the spot and I'm sorry about that, but I want to ask you, if you have a favorite pun, - A favorite pun that you include in your, in my tour.

Oh boy.

Honestly, my favorite pun because I came up with it myself, is so back in the days a Homestake Lead suffered from a lot of substance.

You know, the tunnels grew to such a large size that tunnels would collapse.

The entire area above would just sink.

It was drastic conditions.

Lead city had to be moved around three times due to the constant expansion of the open cut.

And so one of the solutions they found to this problem was backfilling the tunnels, taking the waste or crushing it up and pumping it back into the tunnels they wouldn't using anymore.

And I say, thank goodness they did that before Homestake started backfilling the tunnels, implementing more safety measures.

Lead was a pretty shifty place to live.

That's my favorite pun.