Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation

Our Mission

Treasures of the Trail

Tourism Impact

Membership Information

The North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan provide a diverse and unique setting for an interpretive experience of culture and history.

To assure the accuracy of information used in our exhibits and educational efforts, we work closely with the academic and education communities, most notably with Lewis & Clark historians, archaeologists, and private foundations throughout the United States. We collaborate broadly with state and federal agencies and tribal entities on our programs and outreach efforts.

We provide tours, conferences and forums, support for research publications, educational programs at all levels for businesses, elder hostels and our visitors, and a wide range of resources and information for researchers, educators and students worldwide.

The Interpretive Center moves through a series of interconnected historical links with three major exhibit areas, the Lewis & Clark Expedition, the watercolors of Swiss artist Karl Bodmer, and the Fort Clark Exhibit. All the exhibit areas use visual and hands-on activities to make the interactive exhibit presentations "come alive" for all people.

The visitor's historical experience begins with our centerpiece exhibit, the Lewis & Clark Expedition, which tells the story of the journey, from the political atmosphere of 1803, to the winter spent at Fort Mandan 1804-1805, to the successful conclusion with their return to St. Louis in 1806. The Foundation owns one of only four complete collections in the world of the watercolor works of Swiss artist, Karl Bodmer. His watercolors bring the culture of the Northern Plains Indians to vivid and detailed life, a way of life that was in 1833-1834 beginning to experience the winds of change and transition. The Fort Clark exhibit explores the many voices required to interpret history and culture from 1830 to 1869, a period of fur trade expansion, exploration and settlement of the future state of North Dakota.

Fort Mandan, recreated in the riparian forest along the Missouri River, provides visitors with a virtual link to the past. Step through the gates and experience the sights, sounds and smells of a time long past. The rooms, furnished with historically accurate reproductions, recreate the living conditions of the Expedition's “Fort Mandan Experience.” See Meriwether Lewis's field desk, William Clark's map-making tools, bunks the men slept in, equipment they carried in the field, clothes they wore, and the blacksmith's forge.

The nearby Missouri River environment entices visitors to make their own discoveries of the natural history of the area. Interpretive walking trails, winding under a canopy of majestic cottonwoods, link Fort Mandan to nearby Fahlgren Memorial Park and provide many recreational opportunities.

Programs offer educators of all grade levels the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to develop materials and activities they can use in their classrooms to effectively teach their students about the Lewis & Clark Expedition, North Dakota history, and the concepts and practices of cultural interpretation. The tools and resources provided also help them to thematically integrate history into the classroom and other learning settings.

The Interpretive Center and Fort Mandan provide families, educators, students, and tour groups the opportunity to explore and experience, in depth, our unique stories with activities that utilize all five senses.