Mount Rushmore National Memorial 4.6 (reviews)

We KNOW you have all seen images of those iconic faces in the rocks, that's Mount Rushmore National Monument!

Mount Rushmore National Monument is probably the most visited place in South Dakota, and when you get there you will see why! It's impressive! The monument itself is craved by hand and dynamite out of granite and represents the first 150 years of USA history with the heads of four former presidents looking out over you.

Here's a quiz kids - do you know who the presidents are? If you don't know - there's the first great reason to head down there to learn all about the history!

The faces are a mammoth 18m / 60ft in height - can you imagine how long that will have taken to create! Well, lucky for you there is the Lincoln Borglum Visitor Center which you should allow some time in, as there not only are exhibits on the history of Mount Rushmore National Monument, but there is also a fascinating 14 minute film that you can watch all about how and why the monument was created!

If you have a little more time, and it is well worth it (and kids will have a great time!) you can actually walk the Presidential Trail, which takes you just over half a mile around the sculpture, so you can really get up close and see all the detail that has gone into making it, AND you might even spot some wildlife!

 Of course, there is always a master behind something like this, and Gutzon Borglum was that man in this case! You can visit his studio, and see where he spent a LOT of his time refining his scale model (kids - you can get some inspiration for your next art project!)

Make sure you visit this icon - it's a great family day out!