Chisholm Trail Heritage Center & Garis Gallery of the American West — Attraction in Duncan

We went to the museum with our Homeschool group from Burkburnett, TX. The ages of our group are 2 yrs to about 15 years. We had 15 kids attend with 5 parents. First up on the tour was about 30 minutes of sitting and listening to a lady dressed in period clothing talk about Lizzie Johnson and her life. She was not interactive with the kids except to tell them not to lay down or to sit still. Then afterwards was the art museum for more listening and sitting followed by a scavenger hunt in the art museum where there is no running or touching. Afterwards was an art project that we were enjoying up until the guide said we had about 2 minutes to finish and half the kids were not close to done. Off to the chuck wagon room for another 10 minutes of some lady talking about life on the trail and getting impatient with our kids not wanting to sit still. The animatronic cowboys were fun to watch. We then got to spend about 10 minutes in what was called the interactive area. It consisted of lasso practice, a stamp branding iron and a general store with a few interactive pieces that made noise. they expected our lunch time to be only 20 minutes. At that point myself and a few other moms were ready to just leave. One of the guides asked us to please stay and give the movie a chance. She thought the kids might like it cause it was motioned and had smells and wind. We gave it a try. The movie I will say was great, the chairs vibrated and there was a mock storm complete with rain and the kids did enjoy it. Afterwards we figured since the kids were doing ok that we would try the game so we did. the lady read the cards way to fast and most of the kids could not keep up with counting the beans out. We left at that point. All in all there were a few things I liked but it mostly felt rushed and too restrictive and not at all fun. I would not go again even for free. And the staff, Specifically Mary needs to not be so impatient when it comes to kids. This place might be great for 5th grade and up and certainly not for kids with ADHD who cannot sit...

We are from out of state and stopped at this museum on a drive to a different attraction. We are North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) members. So, we knew our admission would be free and thought we would only spend a few minutes in the building. However, we were so wrong. This is one of the best NARM museums we’ve ever visited. We were warmly greeted by a lady at the front desk who knew how to process our membership and took the time to walk us through the floor plan of the museum, share some interesting facts, and start a video program for us. Though small, the exhibits are wonderfully designed to hold interest, peak curiosity, and thoroughly inform. There is an art gallery, an interactive touch exhibit, a campfire animatronic show, and a 4D theater with many smells and effects. We spent more time than we anticipated here and are so glad...

Informative and lots of interactive displays.

A very nice small museum that does a great job of conveying what life was like on the cattle drive. They have several hands on displays that are great for kids and adults. There is a movie theater that shows an 18 minute video about life on the cattle drive. I especially enjoyed their collection of western art. Their collection includes Remington, Russell and Catlin paintings. The outdoor bronze sculpture is amazing.

The staff is very nice! They are very knowledgeable of the history of the Chisholm trail and more than willing to share their knowledge...