Make Memories at the Museum

MAKE MEMORIES AT THE MUSEUM BY: ABBY LYNES

From dinosaurs to robots, Gallatin Valley museums feature exhibits al most every kid would love. Your child may spend a day or two a year at a museum, but they can never get the full experience in just one day. Muse ums offer a wealth of fun and learning opportunities. Participating in a day camp or just visiting often during the summer can give children the oppor tunity to explore the exhibits they feel most drawn to, and they may discov er a new interest or passion. Several museums feature interactive exhibits or special sections for kids, so be sure to find those rooms. Many museums offer summer programs for kids, which can help you maximize all their learning potential.

Museum of the Rockies

Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? Spend enough time at the Museum of the Rockies, and you may just start to feel like you’ve been trans ported back to the prehistoric times. MOR is rich with history, with one of the world’s largest dinosaur fossil collections and the largest T-rex display, with 13 specimens. Kids can watch MOR volunteers prepare fossils for study and walk through the Hall of Giants, which features one of the most complete Allosaurus skeletons ever discovered.

If you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone Na tional Park any time soon, admission to MOR includes the Martin Children’s Center, one of the newest exhibitions. The exhibit is a great introduction to the regional landscape for those planning to travel to Yellowstone. Infants to eight-year-olds are welcome to check out the exhibit, which interactively shows kids the science and wonders of Yellowstone. There is a geyser that kids can pump themselves, a mini Old Faithful Inn and a fire tower equipped with binoculars.

MOR also offers a number of summer camps for kids entering first through eighth grades. Camp registration is open now, with full payment required on the date of registration. Spots are filling up quickly, so be sure to sign up as soon as you can. Camps typically run for about a week, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mon day through Friday and cost $215 per camper for MOR members and $255 per camper for non-members. Camp themes offered include Disgusting Science, which includes bodily functions like burping and farting, sure to garner some giggles from your kids. There’s also Monsters and Mysteries, in which stu -

dents learn about things like UFOs and the Loch Ness monster, Survival, which teaches kids first aid and survival skills and Astro nauts-in-Training, all space-focused.

For more information, schedules, ex hibits and camper registration, visit museumoftherockies.org or call (406) 994-5282. MOR is located at 600 W. Kagy Boulevard.

Montana Science Center

Montana Science Center features handson, experiential exhibits so your child can learn by doing. All about kids, it has been the premier learning playground for kids of the Gallatin Valley. They are encouraged to touch everything, with exhibits sitting at kids’ eye level. In the summer, the museum offers several camps for those in second through fifth grade. The camps the museum offers are STEM-based, said Abby Turner, MSC’s executive director, meaning that the camps introduce kids specifically to science, tech nology, engineering and math concepts in an exploratory learning environment.

“We aim to promote introduction to high-tech elements in order to encourage a love for STEM subjects, all through an informal learn ing environment,” she said.

Each day of camp includes team-building exercises, hands-on learning activities, walk ing field trips and supervised free play. They start out the day with a problem to solve, Turner said, and by the end of the day they have come together to solve the STEM prob lem presented to them.

“It’s a full day of collaboration, enjoying the outdoors and working in a classroom to crit ically solve a problem that collaborates with the theme of the camp,” she said.

For more information and registration, visit montanasciencecenter.org/steam lab/pir-day-camps or call (406) 522- 9087.

If you’re looking to go back in time to the days when people travelled via horse and buggy in the Gallatin Valley, look no further than the Gallatin History Museum. A big hit with kids, each exhibit has an interactive component, so they can explore, discover and enjoy hands-on learning.

Admission is free for children under the age of 12, and the museum will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The Gallatin History Museum is located at 317 W. Main.

For more information, regarding daily fees, hours of operation, camp, exhibits and more, visit gallatinhistorymuseum. org or call (406) 522-8122.

American Computer and Robotics Museum

From June to August, the American Comput

er and Robotics Museum will be open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m from June to August. Admission is free for kids nine years old and younger $4 for students ages 10 to 17, $7.50 for adults and dona tions are welcome. There’s something for the whole family to enjoy at the museum. Kids are usually fascinated by the gallery of robot ics, where they can find vintage robotics toys, Robby the Robot and robotics demonstra tions. The museum follows the computer’s development back to the earliest form of cuneiform writings of the Mesopotamians. Kids can learn about the origins of their smartphones and every day technology. Rated one of the 10 best free museums in the U.S. by USA Today, American Computer and Robotics Museum is a must-see. It’s located on 2023 Stadium Dr., Suite A, off Kagy Boulevard.

For more information, visit compustory. com or call (406) 582-1288.