Date: July 29th
Time: 1:00-8:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center

Save the date! July 29th is MNHC’s Inaugural Block Party!

Come party in our parking lot and enjoy a day filled with naturalist activities and presentations for people of all ages! Gather with your community, connect with nature, grab some lunch or dinner at one of the local food trucks, and finish the day with a concert in our parking lot!

From 1:00-5:00 p.m. we will host a variety of activities. Be Bear Aware will have an educational station and spray training. We will also have nature-themed face painting, a naturalist observation station with microscopes and boxes of wonder, many tables and activities from other local nonprofits, a sing-along with Sandman the Rappin’ Cowboy, the Josh Farmer Band, an urban foraging walk for adults hosted by Wild Wanders, and a children’s nature walk led by MNHC’s Christine Morris, AND MORE. You won’t want to miss this!

We will close out the day with some excellent music. At 5:00 p.m. Basses Covered will kick off the evening entertainment, and we will end our day of fun with more fabulous tunes from Reverend Slanky!

And don’t worry, there will be great food, too! We’ll host a variety of food trucks all day: Aiko’s Japanese Fusion, Meandering Moose, Puffy’s Poboys & More, and the Wild Weenie. Plus free kids’ cones for all from Big Dipper from 1:00-5:00 p.m.!

Cost: Free and open to the public, and YOU are invited! Donations are appreciated, but not required.

• Stage Schedule:
  • 1:00-1:30 Sandman the Rappin’ Cowboy, Grace Decker, and Ian Smith kids’ sing-along
  • 2:00-3:00 Josh Farmer Band
  • 3:30-4:00 Mandela from the Trail Less Traveled presentation on transnational rivers, river conservation, and didgeridoo performance
  • 5:00-6:00 Basses Covered
  • 7:00-8:00 Reverend Slanky 

• Activities Schedule:
  • 1:00-5:00 Hickory Street is filled with local nonprofit friends hosting a variety of activities including: face painting, free Big Dipper kids’ cones for all, naturalist boxes of wonder, and so much more!
  • 1:00-5:00 The Montana Natural History Center is free and open to the public! Wander inside to check out our amazing Exhibit Hall and visit with our Collections Manager, Alyssa Cornell! She can share all sorts of fun and interesting facts about our specimen collection.
  • 1:00-5:00 Be Bear Aware safety training and educational programming in the vacant lot along Hickory

• Nature Adventure Garden Schedule:
  • 1:00-5:00 Hammered flower art crafts
  • 1:30-2:00 Wild Wanders Urban Foraging walk for all ages
  • 2:00-2:30 Peter Lesica and Annie Garde Natural history walk for all ages
  • 2:30-3:00 Wild Wanders Urban foraging walk for all ages
  • 3:00-3:30 Peter Lesica and Annie Garde Natural history walk for all ages
  • 3:30-4:00 Christine Morris “I Spy” walk for children
  • 4:00-4:30 Christine Morris “I Spy” walk for children

*Walks may run a little over the time allotted depending on the group!

• Ellen Knight Room (upstairs, inside the Center. Elevator is available)
• • 4:00-4:45  MNHC Collections Registrar, Alyssa Cornell, will host a special presentation highlighting some interesting stories behind our specimen collection.Have you ever wondered where a museum gets its specimens and objects? There are so many different stories and histories behind our exhibit hall specimens that led them to MNHC. These mysteries and stories in museums help connect us to each other and the world around us.