Medicine Wheel Park

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Medicine Wheel Park

Medicine Wheel Park on Valley City State University campus in Valley City, ND. The complete story of these structures has been lost in the vastness of time.

The Medicine Wheel
Early cultures throughout the world built rock structures which joined the landscape to the sky, some serving as calendars (Stonehenge in England is an example). Over 100 Medicine Wheels constructed by Native Americans have been found in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada. In 1992 at Valley City State University, Professor Joe Stickler and his s

tudents began this unique project which
soon expanded beyond the walls of the classroom to involve the community. The Medicine Wheel’s large circle measures 213 feet around. The 28 spokes radiating from its center represent the number of days in the lunar cycle. Six spokes extending well beyond the Wheel are aligned to the horizon positions
of sunrises and sunsets on the first days of the four seasons. The design of this rock sculpture was inspired by the Big Horn Medicine Wheel in Wyoming and reflects the beauty of the Earth’s journey around the Sun and the grand cycle of the seasons. Native American Mounds
This Medicine Wheel is a multicultural symbol celebrating the calendar discovery process by our intelligent human ancestors around the globe and honoring the presence of the Native American burial mounds immediately to the east. This particular burial mound complex, built 500-2000 years ago, was originally comprised of fifteen circular mounds and five linear mounds, twelve of which remain within the boundary of the Park. The area was first surveyed in 1883 by T.H. Lewis, who was part of the Northwest Archeological Survey which mapped features such as burial mounds, rock alignments, and pictographs in eleven states and Manitoba, Canada. A Walking Tour of the Solar System
The Solar System model stretches from the Sun (represented by the red center of the Medicine Wheel) to Pluto, one third of a mile away on the edge of the Regional Technology Center parking lot. Boulders representing the planets are spaced in exact proportion to their distances from the Sun on a scale with one foot equaling approximately three million miles. The Earth’s orbit corresponds to the outer circle of the Medicine Wheel. Mercury and Venus are inside the circle and Mars just outside. The large rock near the parking lot symbolizes Jupiter. By walking on the path east of Jupiter you will pass by Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. A panel at the scenic overlook between Uranus and Neptune describes the early history of Valley City. Meridian Calendar
The utility pole nearest to the Medicine Wheel serves as a reminder of another ancient method of keeping track of the seasons. This type of calendar uses the length of the shadow cast by an object at local apparent noon. The 15-foot shadow cast by the utility pole on the first day of summer lengthens to over 100 feet on the first day of winter. Three large rocks located north of the pole mark the top of the pole’s shadow at the beginning of each season. North Country Trail (NCT)
A segment of this national scenic trail winds through the wooded hillside of the Park then along the Path of the Planets and again into the woods. The NCT goes from the Vermont/New York border across northern United States to Lake Sakakawea covering over 4,000 miles and is over 40% complete.

06/29/2026

Wow! This beautiful billboard has just been installed between Jamestown and Valley City. I did not imagine this project would develop to this extent when my Valley City State University astronomy class arranged the first rocks outlining the medicine wheel on the autumnal equinox in 1992. Medicine Wheel Park is located in the community of Valley City on the campus of Valley City State University and has been a combined volunteer endeavor from both town and gown.

06/26/2026

The garden at Medicine Wheel Park is looking very beautiful this summer. My volunteers are understanding their mission – Create beauty and have fun doing it.

06/13/2026

This month an I-94 billboard advertising Medicine Wheel Park using the beautiful photograph taken by Preston Jensen will be installed between Jamestown and Valley City. I am astonished that a simple astronomy class project started in 1992 has become an amazing tourist attraction for Valley City. I am grateful to all the volunteers and donors from the university and community who have made this possible.

03/07/2026

The beauty of the Medicine Wheel garden is on display for the entire seasonal cycle. Photos show the garden from the same area on 9.18.25 near the autumnal equinox and 3.5.26 with the spectacular recent rime ice display from the freezing fog. Being at the Wheel always makes me want to sing the hymn: “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies.”

02/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CXLwXCSUf/

A groundbreaking discovery has just shaken the world of astronomy. Planet Nine is real and it has finally been confirmed. This newly identified world is unlike anything we have seen in our solar system. Hidden far beyond Neptune, Planet Nine is a massive icy giant estimated to be five to ten times the mass of Earth. It is so distant that it takes between ten thousand to twenty thousand years to complete just one orbit around the Sun.

For nearly a decade, astronomers noticed strange movements in the Kuiper Belt, a region filled with icy rocks and debris beyond Neptune. These odd gravitational tugs hinted at a powerful and unseen object lurking in the darkness. First suggested by Caltech researchers in 2016, the theory of Planet Nine sparked years of research and debate. Now, with the help of cutting-edge telescopes, scientists have obtained direct visual proof of this long-hidden giant.

Planet Nine is believed to be an ice giant with a dense atmosphere and a rocky core. Its orbit is extremely stretched out, placing it tens of billions of kilometres from the Sun. On average, it sits twenty times farther away than Neptune, which is why it has remained undetected for so long.

Unlike Pluto, which was reclassified as a dwarf planet, Planet Nine ticks every box to be called a true planet. It is massive, orbits the Sun, and has gravitational control over its region. This makes it the first official addition to our solar system since Neptune was discovered in 1846.

Astronomers are now focused on understanding how this distant world formed, whether it has moons, and if more unknown planets are hiding in the deep reaches of space.

Stay connected for the latest in space exploration and the mysteries of our universe.

12/21/2025

Wes Anderson and Joe Stickler, your astronomy pals, are going to Medicine Wheel Park on Sunday, December 21 at 4:30 pm for the Winter Solstice sunset. All are invited for a brief celebration for the beginning of the Sun’s return to the northern hemisphere. And our connection to the Universe and each other. Bundle up and feel the warmth of community.

11/15/2025

Photo shows Matthew Nielson’s VCHS STEM students adjusting the boulders around the medicine wheel at the end of daylight savings time. The students’ postures illustrate how the boulder gravity is turned off. Then they are levitated to their proper standard time positions.

09/13/2025

“Medicine Wheel Tourists of the Week,” Sonny & Ardis Heath with their dog Mitzie from Phenix City Alabama and Harold & Cindy Cheatham from Lebanon, Tennessee, arrived about the same time. The latter couple had been travelling for six weeks on a motorcycle. They are posed at one of the 5 new replacement panels at the Park. Thank you, Friends of the Medicine Wheel, for your contributions which paid for these beautiful signs.

Address

205 Winter Show Road SE
Valley City, ND
58072

Telephone

+17018457452

Website

http://medicinewheel.vcsu.edu/

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