Indian Museum Top of the Rock

I find it quite amazing that we down here in the woods have a first-class museum of Native American artifacts just 20 minutes drive from home. Situated at Top of the Rock resort - known for the nationally-famous Legends of Golf tournaments, this world-class museum is underneath the Top of the Rock restaurant. (The restaurant is quite pricey, but the view from it is spectacular and the food is worth the price)

My Native American friend, Olee, when he visited the museum a year or so ago, spoke to one of the docents and mentioned it is disrespectful to display ceremonial pipes (aka "peace pipes") with the stem attached to the pipe. The docent said the curator was coming and they had already been told by others their display needed to be corrected - there are hundreds of pipes in the collections. Olee also noted in Indian tradition, wrongly displaying the sacred pipe would bring bad luck. "Really?" the docent said. "Is that true?"

Olee grinned and said one only needed to look outside the museum for the answer.
What is there, you may wonder? This, a 100 feet deep sinkhole that opened up in the golf course soon after the museum opened.

On the far side you can see the giant earth moving equipment. As of last fall they had excavated over 80,000 truckloads of soil out of the bottom of the pit, hoping to connect it to the existing cave on the property - which has a bar and grill inside it. Where the equipment sits will soon become a 4 story hotel, with trails that go down into the sinkhole.

So what's in the museum, you may wonder? Johnny Morris, the owner of Bass Pro Shops and Top of the Rock, has purchased some of the most spectacular collections of Native American artifacts and art anywhere. We walked for 2 hours and didn't nearly see it all. And I was pleased to see how much the collection focuses on Missouri. While there are artifacts from other states, all parts of our state are well represented.

The displays are well done, well lighted and most things are identified.

Fish hooks, awls.

Spectacular examples of animal effigy pots from pre-Columbian periods and Mississipian culture are numerous.

One of the most beautiful mortar and pestles I've ever seen. There are hundreds, in different styles.

Polished pieces, along with a beautiful small statue and miscellaneous pieces.

Thousands of arrow points of all sizes will astound you!

Also in the museum are cave bear skeletons, dioramas, good explanations of animals that lived in the U.S., like the Terror Bird, which is an ancestor of the ostrich, but much bigger and meaner - shown tearing a horse apart.

This is just a minimalist sampling, there is so much to see it will take several trips to view it all. There is a section, quite large, devoted to beadwork and clothing, some quite spectacular, another area devoted to the Civil War, cannon and more that we didn't even get to.

Top of the Rock is next to Big Cedar, 9 miles south of Branson, at the intersection of Hwy 65 and Hwy 86. The charge to park is $10, which is refundable toward your purchase your ticket to the museum ($25).