Young Visitors

Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site continues to develop more kid-friendly installments as interpretive spaces are updated and expanded.   Young visitors can currently enjoy the unique atmosphere of the prison building – even if they’re not yet readers, the foreboding nature of the facility needs no interpretation, and no matter what the age, stepping into a cell and pulling the door closed or viewing the cell blocks from inside a guard tower are dependable favorites.  In the Prison Industries Building, costumed interpreters demonstrate broom making on tradition equipment.  Kids may even have the opportunity to briefly test their skill by turning the winder or threading a “sail-makers” needle through the broom corn hurl.  Can’t wait to get here?  Kids can test their detective skills on the Butch Cassidy Mystery here.

In “Science on the Range” (installed 2012), visitors have the opportunity to put their hand through a “cannula” into the side of a cow’s belly (near life-size cutout) and FEEL what the rumen feels like to scientists taking samples.  They can try their NOSE at identifying a few traditional barn smells,  or ponder, through SOUND, the difference in farming lifestyles that occurred when horses were replaced by tractors.

Finally, Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site is situated on nearly 200 acres.  A nature trail along the Laramie Rivers offers opportunities for wildlife and bird watching.  Visitors can stretch their legs after long drives while they learn about Native American occupation and riparian habitat along the Laramie River.