December 1 - Volunteer Naturalist Training 9:30 am -10:30 am
Preparing for Winter
Interested in helping with our Visiting Naturalist in the Schools program? Join us for training on December’s monthly classroom visits that reach almost 500 Missoula area students.

December 3 – Birdhouse and Down By The River Auction & Gala
Look for 30 brightly decorated birdhouses in the windows at 127 N. Higgins! Area artists created these works of art as part of MNHC’s Featherin’ Our Nest fundraiser.

December 11 - 2nd Annual Wild Gift Bazaar
Finish your holiday shopping with a fine selection of unique hand-crafted, nature-oriented gifts made by artisans from our area, including jewelry, decorative items for the home and clothing. Fun and educational children’s activities will be provided on-site so that parents can shop with ease.

January 5 - Volunteer Naturalist Training 9:30-10:30 –What is in Snow?

January 8 – Saturday Discovery Day: Winter Ecology on Snowshoes, 10:30 am – 3:00 pm
Adults – $15/$10 MNHC members Children – $12/$7 MNHC members (Children must be accompanied by an adult and must be able to walk on their own for extended periods of time.)
Head into the Bitterroots with MNHC Naturalists Lisa Moore and Charles Miller for this exhilarating trek to explore the winter wonderland. Along the way, we’ll look at animal tracks, listen for winter birds, and learn about snow science, among other fun topics. Snowshoeing novices welcome.

January 22 - Volunteer Naturalist Training for Winter Ecology Field Trips with Schools
9:00 am - 3:30 pm FREE
Learn about winter ecology in the northern Rockies while getting the tools and techniques for teaching in the field. We will spend the day learning about the science of snow, how our plant and animal communities adapt to winter, we’ll learn to identify a few of our winter residents and practice the techniques of teaching natural history in the field to school groups. This workshop serves as a Volunteer Naturalist training day for our February winter ecology field trips but anyone with a curiosity about our wintry environment is welcome to attend. Registration required.

Wednesday, January 26 - Community Watershed Education class begins
(Every Wednesday through May 4th, 4:10 - 7:00 pm at UM, LA 205).
Open to UM Students for credit. Free to community members.
Explore the current issues in the Clark Fork Watershed by going into the field and learning from local experts. Issues include: water monitoring techniques, current environmental concerns and educational practices. The class culminates by sharing your knowledge with local sixth grade students during the 11th Annual Clark Fork Watershed Festival.

Thursday, January 27 - Becoming a Naturalist class begins
(Every Thursday through May 5th, 4:10 - 7:00 pm at UM, Health Sciences Building Room 102)
Must Register through Montana Natural History Center. The landscape around us is a manuscript written in trees, flowers, and tracks in the mud. Study that manuscript and begin to learn how to read its story. This is a class in the basics: to learn the skills and tools of a naturalist. Class includes field components with local experts. Cost: $295 Register with MNHC.

February 12 – Saturday Discovery Day: Beetles: The Good, Bad and Ugly
10:00 am – 12:00 noon $7/ $5 MNHC members
Pipestone Mountaineering (129 W. Front in downtown Missoula)
Did you know that some beetles can detect a fire from 100 miles away? Explore the fascinating lives of the beetles found in our region and their adaptations to all sorts of conditions.

February 15 through 17 - FireWorks Trunk Workshop
LEARN ABOUT WILDLAND FIRE using FireWorks, an educational trunk for grades 1-10. Participants will learn about fire ecology through hands-on activities. Classroom teachers and non-formal educators are welcome. To learn more, go to firelab.org and click on FireWorks. To register, contact Jane Kapler Smith (329-4805, jsmith09@fs.fed.us).

February 26 – Saturday Discovery Day. Creating a Wildlife Sketchbook 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Led by natural science illustrator, Claire Emery. Cost: $15 ($10 for MNHC members).
University of Montana.
Drawing on the inspiration and techniques of Scottish wildlife artist Keith Brockie, we will create our own wildlife sketchbooks. Working indoors from the University of Montana’s extensive animal collection, we will use many techniques to portray the form, gesture, and detail of the animals around us. No drawing experience required. Materials list available upon registration. Space is limited, registration required.

March 1 - Volunteer Naturalist Training 7:00 - 8:00 pm
Carrying Capacity Cost: Free! Call for location.
Interested in helping with our Visiting Naturalist in the Schools program? Join us for training on March’s monthly classroom visits that reach almost 500 Missoula area students. Registration Appreciated.

March 12 – Saturday Discovery Day. Our Naturalist Heritage: Seeing the World As They Did 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Educator Steve Archibald Cost: $10 ($8 for MNHC members). Cost includes MNHC admission fee.
Our country has a great naturalist tradition, including people like David Thoreau, Rachel Carson and John Muir. Historically, who were they and how did they see the world? Depending on the weather, we will ponder these and other questions through indoor and outdoor exploration, as we seek to strengthen our naturalist heritage!

March 12 – See our booth at Kids Fair! Southgate Mall

March 26 – Saturday Discovery Day. Waterfowl at Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge 10:00 am - 2:30 pm
With Bob Danley Cost: $15 ($10 for MNHC members).
Late March is waterfowl migration season and Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge is the perfect place to see them. LMNWR Outdoor Recreation Planner, Bob Danley will take us behind the scenes at the Refuge to explore the lives of these avian travelers. Beginning birders welcome. Registration required.

May 5 - Special Event! Robert Michael Pyle
Monarch of the Americas:
The Natural History, Migration, and Conservation of our Best - Beloved Butterfly
Follow along as internationally renowned lepidopterist Robert Michael Pyle takes us on a two-month, 9,000-mile journey with monarch butterflies as they migrate through the West from Canada to Mexico. Through beautiful photographs, he will look at the challenges and opportunities for conservation of the world's greatest butterfly spectacle, the migratory monarchs of North America. This enchanted evening will also include “Butterfly Faces” a popular slides-and-music short that is a great favorite with children and adults alike.

Bob is a writer and naturalist who has worked as a butterfly conservation consultant for the government of Papua New Guinea and Northwest Land Steward for The Nature Conservancy. He has been a visiting professor and writer-in-residence at numerous universities and colleges throughout the country, including the University of Montana, and has been invited to lecture all over the world.
120 Hickory Street
7:00 pm
$5 Donation Requested

May 10 - Prairie Keepers
Fort Missoula Native Prairie at 6:00 pm
Learn about gardening with native plants by taking a guided tour of the Nature Adventure Garden and Fort Missoula Native Prairie. You'll learn about hummingbird and butterfly plants, and learn some common native wildflowers and grasses that thrive in gardens. Then help us to transplant wildflowers and grasses. learn more>>

May 14 - Prairie Keepers
Native Plant Sale at Farmer's Market!
The Clark Fork Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Society has its annual native plant sale fundraiser. Come down and buy healthy native wildflowers, shrubs, and grasses that have been grown from ethically collected seeds by the Society's members. learn more>>

May 14 - A Soup and Stars Saturday Discovery Day
The Moon: Dead or Alive
Bill Elison
How well do you really know the Moon? Join MNHC and the Western Montana Astronomical Association for a light dinner and then explore the Moon’s craters, mountains and valleys and how they were created. We’ll even have a fun demonstration showing how craters are formed. After the presentation, WMAA member telescopes will be set up for the public to view the night sky. This is a great opportunity to learn about the planets and constellations visible from Missoula, and talk to WMAA members about astronomy in general.

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, followed by a sky viewing, weather permitting
120 Hickory Street
$15/$10 MNHC members. Registration required. learn more>>


May 24- Prairie Keepers
Woad Warriors Part I, meet at the M Trail at 6:30 pm. Be ready to walk a few miles!
Help the Clark Fork Chapter of the Montana Native Plant Soicety pull this invader off the slopes of Mount Sentinel. We'll earn money while restoring and urban prairie. learn more>>

July 5 - Prairie Keepers Seed Collecting Workshop
7:00 pm, meet at the Nature Adventure Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: Free!
Learn to collect seeds from wildflowers and native bunchgrasses. The seeds will be used in local restoration projects. This is a great activity for families and kids.

July 9 - Butterfly Safari
10:00 am - 1:30 pm
Cost: $20/ $15 MNHC members
Great for families! New Child rate: $15/ $8 MNHC members (12 and under)
Registration Required. learn more>>


July Summer Science Day Camps
July 11 - July 15 Moost Tracks and Mice Trails (ages 5-7)
July 18 - July 22 Teen Summer Science Camp (ages 12-15)
July 25 - July 29 Little Stories, Big Discoveries (ages 4-5 half day) and Wade into Wetlands (ages 5-11) see our summer camp page>>

July 19 - Prairie Keepers Wildflower Gardening
7:00 pm, meet at the Nature Adventure Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: Free!
Learn about native, waterwise wildflowers that will thrive with minimal care. We will have samples available for purchase, and spend time transplanting blanketflower, golden aster, penstemon, yarrow and others into the Fort Missoula Native Prairie.

July 23 - Into the Woods Saturday Discovery Day
8:00 am
Cost: $20 / $15 MNHC members
Head into the mountains to explore the forest ecology of western Montana and read its landscape, including geology, wildlife and native plants. Along our hike, we'll read selection from nature writes. Bring a bag lunch and plenty of water.

August Summer Science Day Camps
August 1 - 5

August 2 - Prairie Keepers Wildflower Gardening
6:00 pm, meet at the Nature Adventure Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: Free!
Time to start thinking about attracting wildlife to your garden this fall and winter! Learn about easy-to-grow native plants that produce bird friendly berries, hiding spots, and spring nesting opportunities.

August 13 - Big on Bugs Saturday Discovery Day
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
Cost: $5/$4 MNHC Adult members,
$3/$2 MNHC Children (3 – 12 years old) members
learn more>>

August 16 - Prairie Keepers Knapweed Biocontrol Workshop
6:00 pm, meet at the Nature Adventure Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: Free!
Help collect knapweed root boring insects (Cyphocleonus achates) for re-distribution around Missoula. You can take some home if you help collect for the common good! learn more>>

August 17 - Volunteer Naturalist Meeting for the Visiting Naturalist in the Schools program
6:00 - 8:00 pm, meet at MNHC 120 Hickory Street
What is a Naturalist? Join us as we venture into 25 classrooms each month beginning in September and this introductory lesson for fourth graders. Volunteer Naturalists train once a month for this exciting opportunity. learn more>>


August 24- Members only BBQ Night!
5:00 - 8:00 pm
All members are invited to a special night with the Montana Natural History Center. Get a behind-the-scenes look at exhibit construction and enjoy a FREE barbeque in thanks for all of the support you bring to MNHC and natural history education.

August 24 - Parthenon Entertainment and National Geographic's film by Rob Whitehair, "Kit Fox: An American Tale" 7:00 pm, Montana Natural History Center, 120 Hickory Street.
Join MNHC for this exciting and free film! Bring lawn chairs and blankets. Local filmmakers Rob Whithair and Pam Voth will be present for question/answer session after this 50 minute viewing.

The San Joaquin Kit Fox is the second smallest of the world’s foxes; a tiny cat-sized predator from the desert valleys of California. Over the past century, development shot up throughout the State and the kit fox looked doomed to failure - they needed to change - shape up, or ship out - and the fox seems to have risen to the challenge.

This unusual blue chip one-hour special follows the trials and tribulations of two kit foxes, a brother and sister, as they strike out on two very different paths; one choosing the bright lights of the city and the other, the dangers of the countryside. It's a classic Hollywood-style story of survival.

In Bakersfield, the endangered kit fox has shown its immense adaptability - amid houses it is free from predation, and the mess created by humans supports a healthy rodent population for it to feed upon. When people settled they tried to get rid of all predators, including the kit fox, but at the eleventh hour the tables were turned, now it seems that people may have created a fox paradise and that these new urban foxes may hold the key to safeguarding their cousins in the wild. Join us as we reveal the amazing lives of the San Joaquin kit fox.

Award-winning filmmaker, Rob Whitehair, is based in Missoula, Montana. He will be available for discussion of the film. Pam Voth, who did the sound recording and still photography for the film, will also be on hand to answer questions.
To learn more, contact Betsy Maier, maier@TheNatureCenter.org.

August 27- Glacial Lake Missoula Field Trip Saturday Discovery Day with the Ice Age Floods Institute
8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Cost: $75 includes IAFI membership, $50 MNHC members /$40 IAFI members, students and teachers
The fee includes lunch, beverages, transportation, and all presentations. “Shorelines, Erratics, Ripples, Kolks and Varves: Missoula to Rainbow Lake” with U.S. Forest Service Geologist Jim Shelden as guide for the charter-bus tour, along with several other Glacial Lake Missoula experts. The trip is sponsored by the Glacial Lake Missoula Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute. learn more>>

August 30- Prairie Seed Collecting Workshop with Prairie Keepers
6:00 pm, Cost: Free
Learn to collect seeds from wildflowers and native bunchgrasses. The seeds will be used in local restoration projects. This is a great activity for families and kids. Meet at the Fort Missoula Native Prairie.