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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Located in one of the most sparsely populated areas of the American West, the Custer National Forest is one of South Dakota's (and Montana's) best kept secrets
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Built in 1905, the the Citizens State Bank of Henry, now the Henry Post Office, is the last of the historic brick buildings built during the early days of Henry’s developing Main S
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Just west of Clark on US HWY 212, Ken Bell’s work in progress is a sure conversation starter, even if you're only talking to yourself.

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