6 minute read
Local Museums
UNCOVER THE PAST & PRESENT AT LOCAL MUSEUMS!
Summertime is a time for exploration. It’s a time for exploring the outdoors and sitting around the campfi re with those you love. It’s a time for discovering a new hobby you can enjoy with your friends, and it’s a time of exploring the world we live in through engaging activities and lessons. Every museum around provides programming that helps engage children with the wealth of knowledge they offer, from discovering how rockets work to indepth classes on drawing and other art mediums. Your local museums serve up the perfect mix of engaging and fun activities that help stimulate learning through summer camps. Check out some of the camps and activities offered by museums right here in the community.
Museum of the Rockies
The Museum of The Rockies offers an extensive list of summer camps for students entering grades fi rst through eighth. Most camps are fi ve days and run from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Monday-Friday. The fi rst camp begins June 21 for grades fi rst through fi fth. After that, each week is a different camp with a different theme. The fi rst camp available for grades sixth through eighth begins July 6. Children entering fi rst and second grade can attend the Junior Paleontologists camp, where they learn everything about paleontology and get the chance to build a mini exhibit for display in the museum. Are fossils and rocks not thrilling enough for you? Kids can take a row through Nordic culture, confl ict, and exploration during the brand-new Vikings camp. Ready to explore outer space? Head to NASA’s unoffi cial boot camp through the Astronauts-In-Training, where kids can learn how rockets work and how humans can live in space long term, offered the week of June 28 - July 2. While middle schoolers have fewer options with camps only available in July, there’s still plenty of fun and learning available. The fi rst week for junior high kicks off with the Vikings camp followed by Backyard Ballistics. But, don’t worry parents, no explosives will be involved in camp this year. Potato launchers, you ask? No promises there … Registration for any age group is open at https://museumoftherockies. org. MOR offers camp scholarships for those needing fi nancial assistance. The application for scholarships is online. Additional information about camp dates and pricing is also available on the web or by calling 406-994-2251.
Montana Science Center
With a total of 10 camps available to elementary school students, the Montana Science Center has you covered if you’re hoping to take a more methodical approach to learning this summer. The fi rst camp begins the week of June 14, and the weekly camps continue through the week of Aug. 23, with each camp having a different theme. Camps are held Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Montana Science Center camps provide STEAM-based learning – Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math, that is. City 3021 kickstarts the summer and focuses on planning and designing cities of the future. Kids in this camp can look forward to putting their wits together to build a model of a future metropolis. Keep it sly with the third camp of the summer, Spy Camp, where campers will practice the art of espionage and learn what it takes to be a spy. Note: This is what they don’t show you in Spy Kids, so it will be worth your time. Campers will even get a chance to create spy gadgets. Looking for something with less surveillance and wiretapping involved? Check out the science center’s Storybook Steam camp, where campers will explore classic folktales like Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Billygoats Gruff, The Three Little Pigs, and more! Campers will get the chance to investigate these stories through team-building
STEAM challenges. Montana Science Center’s Go Green camp will be the final camp of the summer, during the week of Aug. 23. Campers will get the chance to combine multiple STEAM fields by learning the basics of environmental science and creating upcycled art. Learn how we can all take part in caring for the environment and leave this world better than we found it.
Different camps are available to different age groups, so check the Center’s website to find out what dates are available to you by going to https://montanasciencecenter. org/. Registration is open now. The Montana Science Center can be reached at 406-522-9087.
American Computer & Robotics Museum
The oldest continually operating museum of its kind, The American Computer & Robotics Museum, is open to all ages this summer from 12 - 4 p.m., Tuesday - Sunday. The museum exists to inspire visitors of all ages to explore the past and imagine the future of the Information Age through thought-provoking exhibits, innovative storytelling, and the bold exchange of ideas, according to the museum’s website. Content in the museum covers over 4,000 years of human history: everything from Cuneiform writing in the Ancient Near East to the smartphone in your pocket. The museum has been around since 1990 and has gathered a robust reputation in that time, with distinguished Harvard scientist Edward O. Wilson calling it “inch for inch, the best museum in the world.” While the museum does not host any summer camps, it does not charge admission to kids 9 and younger. Admission for youth ages 10-17, seniors 65+, and students, costs $4, and adults cost $7.50. The museum has one major event listed on their website for the year, and it’s one you don’t want to miss. Check out the 20th Annual Stibitz Wilson Awards at The Ellen on Sept. 24th to see some of computer science’s top luminaries honored for their work. The event is hosted by The American Computer and Robotics Museum and offers a panel of some of the fields leading experts. Tickets are free!
You can find more information regarding the American Computer and Robotics Museum at https:// acrmuseum.org, by calling 406-5821288, or by visiting in person.
it’s a
OF SCIENCE
Open for learning & play all summer! Check our website for current hours & to register for special programs.
Bozeman Art Museum
For those looking to indulge their inner artist, the Bozeman Art Museum is offering summer classes that teach you more than just the basics. The museum is offering six-week summer programs with curriculum based on Davinci Initiative teachings, the Mona Brookes ‘Monart’ lessons, and Betty Edwards teachings. These programs are hosted at local schools in Bozeman, Livingston, Belgrade, and surrounding areas during the school Bozeman Art Museum will be hosting an online program with Belgrade High School at the end of March. Those interested can sign up through Bozeman Art Museum’s website, by calling their office, or at any local library in Bozeman, Livingston, and Belgrade. The classes range in topics, and Executive Director Linda Williams said students in the summer camps should expect “project classes involving reading lists from the local libraries.” So, for those looking to sculpt or draw their dog, be prepared for some summer reading as well! You can find more information on the youth programs offered by Bozeman Art Museum by going to their website at https:// bozemanartmuseum.org or calling 406-570-1419. Bozeman Art Museum is located at 2612 W Main Street in Bozeman.
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