Oct. 9, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

Discover a new play place, take a step back in time and play games under black light with these fun stops waiting just outside Sioux Falls in Dell Rapids.

The Party Place

As Kim Hubers puts it: “For a long, long time, I’ve been trying to bring an indoor playground into town.”

This year, she did just that. Hubers opened The Party Place at 405 E. Fourth St. in historic downtown Dell Rapids — building off her balloon art business to add play space for babies through preteens.

“Up to about age 8 can play on most of the equipment,” she said. “But I also have Legos and card games and different things for older kids.” 

She also sells candy and small toys priced for kid-sized budgets and has plenty of stuffed animals to visit. There are puzzles and family games, plus the space is available to rent for groups and special events.

“We’ve had a lot of support,” Hubers said. “Every time people come in, I hear: ‘Oh my gosh. I didn’t know we had this. I didn’t know this existed. This is great.’ They always come back.” 

Parents are welcome to bring a laptop and work or just relax while kids play.

“It is very important to me that everyone is welcome and everyone can afford to come,” she said.

For details on The Party Place, visit here.

Dell Rapids Museum

 Step next door to The Party Place at 407 E. Fourth St. and you’ll step back in time.

The Dell Rapids Museum offers two stories filled with donations that tell the story of daily life in the area from decades — even centuries — gone by.

“I have every reason to believe that my great-grandfather was one of those that worked on this building,” said Rhonda Schildhauer, board president of the Dell Rapids Society for Historical Preservation.

“So that gives my heart a little bit of a boost towards the preservation of this building.”

Inside this historic building and former department store, you’ll find ever-changing exhibits highlighting things like the Dell Theatre, amateur baseball and toys from multiple eras.

“Upstairs, we have a 1920s kitchen and a bedroom set up,” Schildhauer said. “We have a bridal display here. We have one from the undertaker because the building next door was the original funeral home here in Dell Rapids.”

Kids love to search the building on scavenger hunts for prizes during the summer, and while daily hours go away in the fall, it’s still open by appointment.

Plus, there are special events, including participating in downtown trick-or-treating and an annual Christmas festival. And keep watching here in case more tickets open up for a paranormal reading in the building on Halloween night.

Take a walking tour of historic Dell Rapids anytime with a brochure located outside the museum’s door.

“We will come meet anybody, and since most of us on the board are retired, we have come on two minutes’ notice and come down to let people in and tour,” Schildhauer said.

 The Fun Nook

And don’t leave Dell Rapids without some memorable fun at a new place appropriately named The Fun Nook.

It’s owned by Desiree and Paul Osborne, who also own The Meeting Nook in Dell Rapids.

“We were hoping to create a place where people can come and they don’t have to have to go to a big city in order to do something fun and it could be fun all year-round,” Desiree Osborne said.

A nine-hole mini-golf course is set to black light, while you can find throwback fun with retro games, arcade basketball and Mario Kart.

“We’ve had quite a few parties come in here and some people on date nights and different things like that,” Osborne said.

“Everybody’s had a really good experience here — just to play the golf, it’s really challenging, but also just to sit back and play all the other games as well.”

The owners also have brought some of their bubble teas, lemonades and energy drinks to The Fun Nook.

“And then we have a delicious sourdough pizza where we make our own sourdough crust, and you can get pepperoni or cheese as of right now,” Osborne said. “And then we’re looking to expand that line as well.”

Bookings are necessary but available for a minimum of two people.

“We wanted people to take a step back, get off their phones and go back to good old fun and hanging out with their friends,” Osborne said.

For more information, visit here.