Crazy Horse Memorial model showing monument's future was built by Minnesota college students

Families heading west to the Black Hills this summer might make a stop at the Crazy Horse Memorial near Mount Rushmore. 

The memorial has a Minnesota connection that tells the story of the site.

"A young Lakota warrior that accomplished something greater than himself," said Whitney Rencountre II, CEO of Crazy Horse Memorial.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Crazy Horse helped lead his warriors in the Battle of Little Bighorn. He became a hero among his people. And while he never allowed himself to be photographed, his likeness can be found on Thunderhead Mountain.

"The face is only 1.7% of the whole finishing surface of the whole carving," said Rencountre.

The memorial has been under construction since sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski made the first dynamite blast nearly 80 years ago.

When it's finally done, the carving will be about 300,000 square feet.

"The face took 10 years to complete, and the hand only took one year to complete," said Rencountre.

The site also includes a university and museum. And among all the artifacts and relics, you'll find a vision.

"The fact that students took the time to create this, it holds a special place for us here at Crazy Horse Memorial," said Rencountre.

"Awestruck, honestly," said Vince Houser. "It's a massive model."

Fifteen years ago, five students and a professor from Northwest Technical College and Bemidji State came together to build a model. It's 16 feet by 10 feet and it shows what the site will look like when it's finally done.

"It was a year project, essentially," said Houser.

Houser, of Staples, Minnesota, was one of the students who helped make this as part of a graduate project. He says instructor Lyle Meulebroeck welded the base together. The students then used a topographical map from the Internet and CNC machine to get the hills exactly right. Plaster was used to cover the foam to make it look like rock.

"We actually had a bronze model that was lent to us essentially by the Crazy Horse National Monument," said Houser.

It's one of the original sculptures from Ziolkowski that was cast in bronze. It became the centerpiece. But everything around it needed to be sculpted, sanded and polished by hand. Houser and his team even worked nights and weekends to get it done. The project had a similar motto to the memorial itself.

"You can't rush perfection. And that's something they really hit home on us," said Houser.

Since it's been on display, Houser made a point to visit and see the memorial and the work he and his fellow students put in. He's especially happy to see that the trees are still standing.

"There were thousands of trees. I think there's over 5,000 trees that we ordered. And so they were all hand-planted because they are made out of wire and then modeling grass," Houser said. "Yeah. It worked out well."

It worked out well for the memorial, too.

"I think it's something the students and folks in Minnesota should be very proud of that there is something here at Crazy Horse Memorial that's a connection to their students and their educational systems," said Rencountre.

"To be able to actually show people what you worked on throughout the year and actually have something tangible at a national monument, it's an immense amount of pride," said Houser.

The model can be found inside the visitor complex at the Crazy Horse Tourist Center.

The memorial is located about 25 minutes from Mount Rushmore.