Chad Berger Bucking Bulls exhibit is among exhibits at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame: Center of Western Heritage & Cultures in Medora.

MEDORA – Each winter, the Center of Western Heritage & Cultures at the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame updates displays and exhibits, bringing new experiences to the thousands of North Dakotans who journey to this Medora hot spot.

Continually working to entice first-time visitors, the NDCHF is also keenly aware that North Dakota residents comprise a significant portion of guests who tour the museum every season. Executive Director Rick Thompson and Museum Curator Tess Howie spend a considerable amount of time developing ideas and bringing them to fruition, giving in-state travelers reasons to return year after year. The 2024 season is no different.

“We have a responsibility, clearly defined by our organizational founders, to present North Dakota’s impressive, exciting history and to promote the cultures that shaped it. We don’t feel that we can be fully effective in that mission if our repeat guests see the same displays every summer,” said Howie.

The Rodeo Room, on the ground floor of the museum, is under construction. An all-new World Champions Wall brings Saddle Bronc champions Alvin Nelson and Brad Gjermundson, along with Bareback champion Wayne Herman together in one display that spans over 20-feet in length.

The Native Riders exhibit, unveiled in 2023, will have additional photos, biographies and artifacts honoring Native Americans inducted to the NDCHF for their achievements in rodeo at state and national levels.

North Dakota’s Rodeos will be a featured exhibit this year, as well.

“The NDCHF has always recognized our state’s various rodeos, whether through their induction to the Hall of Honorees, or through stories and photographs found throughout the museum,” said Thompson. “An exhibit bringing together in one place the history, facts, and great photographs from all of North Dakota’s oldest rodeos – many still active today – was long overdue.”

The museum will have more technology this season, as well. New touch screen kiosks will be filled with photos, videos, and data. In the rodeo room, guests can linger at kiosks, enjoying video shorts and browsing historic photographs of rodeo contestants and animal athletes, researching past leaders of North Dakota’s ranching and rodeo organizations, scrolling Miss Rodeo North Dakota portraits and much more. In the Native American Gallery, information and visually enticing content will teach users about the role of the horse as a common thread in North Dakota’s rodeo, ranching and Native American cultures.

“Kiosks have no limits. We can continually add more content, creating new, virtual exhibits every season. It will be an ongoing project. But, through technology we can bring the information and stories currently being stored in back rooms, drawers, and boxes, directly to the visiting public. The history will be literally at their fingertips,” Howie said.

The North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame: Center of Western Heritage & Cultures, will unveil new exhibits during its annual Season Premiere, to be held Saturday, May 4. The evening includes the naming of the NDCHF’s 2024 Class of Inductees to the Hall of Honorees. A notable guest will deliver a short presentation and a meal will be served. The event is held on the Alvin Nelson Memorial Arena Patio at the NDCHF in Medora and is open to the public.

The NDCHF museum and gift shop will open for the 2024 season on Sunday, May 5.