MEDORA — The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is scheduled to open on July 4 in the North Dakota Badlands. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit the library on July 1 as part of the Freedom 250 event for the grand opening.

The 96,000-square-foot library had a construction cost of $450 million. The facility incorporates artificial intelligence exhibits, including one that allows visitors to have a conversation with an avatar of Theodore Roosevelt. Edward O'Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, described the facility as more than a museum or library. "Library and museum are the two worst descriptions of what the TR Library actually is. It's a call to adventure." O'Keefe said. He added, "We have created the world's first presidential archive in AI. Participants can come here to the TR Library, and have an in-person conversation with an avatar of T.R. You do not come unprepared for a conversation with Theodore Roosevelt; he will have none of it." O'Keefe also noted, "Theodore Roosevelt grew up as a sickly, asthmatic child who lived his life through books and imagination. So here he is, 24 years old, on the plains and Badlands of North Dakota, and he's living the life he only read about in books." He continued, "I think he had a 'life wish.' He realized that no matter how rich you are, no matter how privileged you are, that you don't know what's going to happen next. If you want to get something done in this world, if you want to love somebody, if you want to accomplish something, you gotta go." Regarding Roosevelt's philosophy, O'Keefe said, "He does not like the critic. He does not like the person on the sidelines pointing out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. He likes the person who tries and fails. That's a powerful lesson for today. I want kids in particular to come in and understand that if you want to change something in this world, you have got to be the source of that change."

The library's design features walls made of compressed earth and a roof covered in native grasses and walking paths. Architect Craig Dykers stated the design aimed for a primitive feel. "We wanted something that just felt primitive. And so, this form emerging from the Earth, it felt like it just arrived from the Earth." Dykers said. He also noted, "Nature is transformative here. It transformed Theodore Roosevelt, and it will transform new visitors to this library." The interior utilizes skylights for natural illumination.

The library features a replica of Theodore Roosevelt's cabin from Elkhorn Ranch. The grounds also include a mile-long nature walk path and hitching posts for horses. The library project included a land blessing with five tribes. Theodore Roosevelt V, great-great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, said, "I wasn't interested in doing a legacy project for Theodore Roosevelt. There's plenty of things named after him, plenty of statues. But the idea of just sort of basking in the glow of somebody and saying 'This is a great man, let's all look at him,' isn't particularly compelling. Normally, presidential libraries – it's the principal [reason], the president trying to cement the first chapter of his legacy. In this case, we've got a hundred years-plus to be able to look back at his legacy, to really understand what that legacy is, what the lasting impacts were. We get to face those issues head-on." Roosevelt V added, "We had a land blessing out here with the five tribes to bless the land and really bring them into the project, so that we were working with them and making sure that their voices were heard, and that we were representing things appropriately."

The library has taken possession of a statue of Theodore Roosevelt that was removed from the American Museum of Natural History in New York in 2022. That statue depicted a White man elevated above a Native American and an African. O'Keefe stated the library plans to contextualize the statue. "We are here to preserve the life and legacy of Theodore Roosevelt. I think it's important that we eventually do something that contextualizes it appropriately, but not at the opening." O'Keefe said.