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| Statue of Buffalo Bill |
I’ll admit I was skeptical when my mother told me the highlight of her Western trip through Wyoming was the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, Wyoming. But like a good daughter, I took my boys there for a short visit since we had already had a trail ride at the Bill Cody Ranch earlier in the afternoon.
We showed up at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center two hours before closing to go through a museum and interactive historical center that we could have easily spent an entire day at. With five permanent exhibits devoted to various subjects such as Western art and the Plains Indians, an enormous firearms collection, and an entire wing devoted to Cody’s namesake, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, we had to pick and choose to maximize our time at the museum.
Since we were in Cody, Wyoming, it made sense to start off our visit in the area devoted to the man known as “Buffalo Bill.”
Bill Cody earned his nickname from killing over 4000 bison to feed the men on the Kansas Railroad. Apparently Bill Comstock had the same nickname so the two engaged in a “bison duel” to settle who could officially call himself “Buffalo Bill.”
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| Buffalo coat and the gun Buffalo Bill used |
Bill Cody won by killing 69 bison to Comstock’s 49.
Also in this area were the silver saddles, costumes, and posters that Buffalo Bill used in his Wild West shows, which toured throughout the United States and Europe.
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| Posters from Buffalo Bill’s show |
We then ventured into what many consider the highlight of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center –
the Cody Firearms Museum. As fans (and I’ll admit players) of
Modern Warfare and
Call of Duty, this was heaven for my boys.
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| Guns and more guns |
Hailed as having one of the largest firearm collections in the world, the Cody Firearms Museum boasts over 3500 firearms on over two floors. With guns and rifles from every American-fought war and/or skirmish, the boys examined guns from the American Revolution up to more recent machine guns.
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| A timeline of rifles |
Entire walls were devoted to gun manufacturers such as Smith & Wesson and Colt.
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| The gun that “won the West” – the Colt |
And, of course, my boys had to try out their shooting skills . . .
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| Trying out the rifles in an arcade game |
With time running out, we chose to spend out last few minutes at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center learning about Yellowstone National Park. I truly wish we had seen this exhibit BEFORE we had ventured into Yellowstone because we learned more about our first national park in a half-hour than we did in a half a day of driving around the park.
Uniquely designed in a spiral pattern, the
Draper Museum of Natural History condenses Yellowstone into manageable and kid-size chunks with interactive displays and hands-on exhibits. I truly wish we had seen this exhibit BEFORE we had ventured into Yellowstone.
Want to know what a beaver lodge looks like on the inside? Or how your hand compares to a wolf’s paw? On the Alpine to Plains Trail inside the museum, my guys learned about the animals and plants that make up each unique environment within Yellowstone.
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| Inside a mock-up of a beaver dam |
Sounds like a cool museum – particularly the natural history section. Good thing you listened to your Mom!
Looks like a great museum. Thanks for the little tidbits about Buffalo Bill. It's nice to learn something new while your piddling around on the internet instead of doing housework.
Like I always say! Listen to your mother!