Big Towns and Little Towns
What makes a town grow? What makes a town shrink?
Why do some towns form by rivers and others out on the prairie? This episode looks at what has made towns like Sioux Falls and Rapid City grow continuously and why some towns like Detroit, SD, disappear. It examines the economics of city growth and rural decline throughout our state's history.
Related Resources
Additional videos, activities, and more below.
Drive-In Theaters Videos and Activity
Activity - Inverse Proportions and Shadows in the Real World
In this video, students take a quick trip through the history of drive-in theaters and are then asked to consider the question, "What is the relationship between the size of an object’s shadow and the object’s distance from a light source?"
In the accompanying classroom activity, students do a hands-on experiment about the size of their own shadows at different distances from a projector or other light source.
Activity: Local Landmarks
Every town, big or little, has unique things and places. Your students should research and photograph local Landmarks.
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The Crandall Pumps in tiny Crandall, South Dakota, was the last Standard Oil station in the US to use manual gravity pumps. The Pumps no longer serve gas, only nostalgia. -
The Joseph N. Nicollet Tower in Sisseton climbs 75 feet above the Coteau des Prairies and offers expansive views of three states. -
The pristine prairie and river bluffs of the Grand River National Grassland can be all yours to explore.
For more information about
SDPB's educational resources and services,
contact Steven Rokusek at [email protected]
(605)222-3422
