Volunteer!

We depend on volunteers to help us run quality programs for the community. We accept volunteers of all ages and abilities, and are adept at working with volunteers’ busy schedules. Whether you’re interested in teaching children about nature, assisting with our auction, filling in at our front desk, greeting visitors at Evening Lectures, or working in our native plant garden, we have an opportunity for you!

If you’d like to become a volunteer, please fill out the form under the “Volunteer Application” tab.  Or just stop by and visit us!

and Want to work with kids? Lead natural history field trips? Or maybe you’d prefer to write a Field Note or help in the Garden? Here are all the ways you can get involved!

Volunteer Naturalist

Bring natural history to local 4th-5th grade students as a specially trained Volunteer Naturalist for the Visiting Naturalist in the Schools Program.


Saturday Kids’ Activities, miniNaturalists and Center Visits Volunteer

During the school year, assist our staff naturalists in running our Saturday Kids’ Activities on the weekends (on topics from birds to bugs to space, and more!), miniNaturalists program on Thursday mornings from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m., or help with school field trips during the week.


Summer Volunteer

Help out with our Summer Outdoor Discovery Day Camps – a fun and fantastic opportunity to gain experience working with kids in the outdoor classroom, where No Child is Left Inside. Assist staff with activities, or create your own lesson and activity on a natural history topic that interests you.


Outreach and Special Events

Annual events such as Wild Fest and KidsFest are exciting ways to engage families in MNHC activities. Other events include and are not limited to the Farmer’s Market, Missoula MADE fair, Kids Fair at Southgate Mall, Out to Lunch, University of Montana tabling and recruitment, and Missoula Children & Nature Network programs.


Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula

Do you have a green thumb or just love to pull weeds? We could use your help! Work in our native plant garden and learn about Montana’s native prairie grasslands, or help with Garden education activities.


Field Notes

Research and write ~600 word natural history essays for our Field Notes radio program aired weekly on Montana Public Radio.


Front Desk Volunteer

Help the Montana Natural History Center with greeting visitors and assisting with gift-shop sales and memberships.


Auction Assistance

Help us prepare for our largest fundraising event of the year! Each summer, we need 6-8 volunteers to solicit silent auction items from local businesses. We also need ~10 volunteers to assist on the night of the event, checking attendees in and out, selling raffle tickets, displaying live auction items, and more.

 

MNHC has plenty of programs to volunteer with year-round! Check out some of our current recurring programs, and then fill out our Volunteer Application to learn about even more ways to join us. 

Visiting Naturalist in the Schools

Most school days, September – May

The Visiting Naturalist program puts professional naturalists in fourth and fifth grade classrooms to teach science and the natural history of western Montana. Naturalists work with students once a month for the entire school year, usually through classroom visits but twice a year (May and October) through full-day, outdoor field trips. Volunteers accompany our staff naturalists on the classroom visits and provide general classroom assistance as needed.  In October and May, volunteers learn and then lead field trip stations. This is a great way to get kids connected with nature, and it’s a lot of fun, too! 

Front Desk Assistance

Weekdays, Saturday, and evenings
On days that we are open to the public (Tuesday-Saturday) we have two front desk coverage shifts: 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and 1:30-4:00 p.m. Greet visitors, sell merchandise from our gift shop, keep an eye on the exhibit hall, and enjoy spending time in the museum. During quiet moments, feel free to catch up on reading, homework, or any other projects you may have. MNHC staff members are always in the building, and available to help with any questions that may arise. This is a great way to get some experience at the front desk and visit with community members while you’re at it. 
We are also looking for friendly volunteers to staff the front desk during evening programs and events. Greet and interact with participants, and enjoy the event yourself.  This is a great way to fit in some volunteer hours in the evenings or after work!

We accept volunteers of all ages and abilities. No matter what your interests, we have an opportunity that will fit you! If you’d like to volunteer, please begin by filling out our volunteer application form.

 

Volunteer Application Form
Please indicate whether this is your cell, home, or work number.
Education, employment, hobbies, previous volunteer work, etc.

Maximum file size: 52.43MB

Check out the "Ways to Volunteer" tab for more information about these opportunities.
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