Free summer programming offered at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center

Corrections:
Confluence Learning Lab date, Saturday, June 28
Reel History date and times, Sunday, June 29, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

June 6, 2025

WILLISTON, N.D. - Step into the stories of the past and explore the beauty of the present at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center near Williston throughout June. Weekly events offer engaging, family-friendly ways to experience the confluence of cultures, rivers, and time. Registration is not required for these free programs, and children must be accompanied by an adult.

From Atlatls to Arrows: Early Peoples Hunting Strategies
Wednesdays & Fridays, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and 3-4 p.m.
Learn how the region's earliest hunters crafted and used tools made from stone, wood, and sinew at this interactive drop-in session. Test your aim with ancient weapons including the atlatl-a spear-throwing tool-and the traditional bow and arrow.

Throwback Thursdays: Frontier & Indigenous Games at the Confluence
Thursdays, 2 p.m.
Discover the joy of historical play in this weekly drop-in program featuring a rotating lineup of games once played by Indigenous communities and frontier families. From hoop-and-dart and double ball to croquet, marbles, and classic parlor card games, this is hands-on fun for all ages.

Where Rivers Meet: A Walk Through History & Nature
Saturdays, 10 a.m.
This 60-minute guided walk explores the post-glacial landscape of the confluence, highlighting native plants, wildlife, and river ecology while connecting those natural features to human stories, especially Indigenous use of the land, the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and the development of nearby Fort Buford.

Confluence Learning Lab: Early Peoples & Hunting Tools
Saturday, June 28, 2 p.m.
Dive deeper into the lifeways of early Indigenous peoples. Explore the handmade tools hunters developed to adapt to their environment, then use atlatls and bows in a supervised, educational setting. It's an enriching blend of history, science, and fun.

Reel History at the Confluence: "Ice Age" Movie & Fossil Fun
Sunday, June 29, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Cool off with a screening of the hit animated movie "Ice Age," then stick around for a hands-on fossil experience! After the film, chat with staff about the real ice age and get up close with fossils from that chilly chapter of Earth's history.

For more information, contact Education Outreach Coordinator Cheyenne Teal, shsbuford@nd.gov or 701.572.9034. The Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center is part of Fort Buford State Historic Site managed by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center and Fort Buford are open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m., through Sept. 30. All times listed are Central time. Find information about upcoming programs of the State Historical Society at history.nd.gov/events.

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CONTACT
Kara Haff, Public Information Officer
701.328.3547

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