Avonlea Before the Plow

This fascinating art installation takes the viewer through four eras in the history of the plains. "The Life Before Man: Avonlea Under the Sea" exhibit is a wrap around mural with life-sized marine reptiles that lived in the sea which occupied the area of Avonlea 60 million years ago. A tipi ring exhibit includes a breath-taking 16' high diorama of the Dirt Hills and ceremonial circle overlooking the "living sky" of the Missouri Coteau with a Golden Eagle gliding overhead. An almost life sized mural of a tipi encampment with people, dogs, and equipment depicts life as it might have appeared 200 years ago. Finally, the Avonlea Arrowhead and Buffalo Jump, which dates back to approximately 400 A.D., monumentally displays the walls of the badlands valley with a 10 foot tall plexiglass window to the past where the viewer can see the mural of a buffalo jump taking place.