Montana Natural History Center

Mount Jumbo Wildflower Walk with Marilyn Marler
2026-04-23 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Denver) | Mount Jumbo
Date: Thursday, April 23, 2026
Time: 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Location: Meet at the Mount Jumbo Saddle Trailhead at the end of Lincoln Hills Drive.
Cost: $35 MNHC members/$40 non-members.
Add your MNHC membership to your order when you check out!
REGISTER HERE!
Take time to smell (and identify) the flowers with botanist Marilyn Marler!
Enjoy a slow paced evening walk to enjoy the early spring bloom on Mount Jumbo’s saddle. We’ll admire and learn the names of at least 10 wildflowers, including shooting stars, larkspur, prairie smoke and arrowleaf balsamroot. We’ll walk up to 1 mile maximum, on an established trail. Bring a notepad and your camera if you like!
Instructor: Marilyn Marler is a botanist and the Executive Director of the Montana Natural History Center. Before joining the staff at MNHC she spent 26 as a land steward at the University of Montana, where she also taught general botany and plant identification. She thinks spring is the best season because of wildflowers.
Activity Level: Moderate. Uphill walking on uneven trail. 1.5 hours standing and walking. No bathrooms. Be comfortable walking up and down inclines.
What to Bring:

Clothes and layers for changing Montana weather conditions
Good walking shoes or boots
Water/snacks
Notebook, pen, camera optional

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Checking In On Montana's Moose: A Recap of FWP's 10-Year Moose Study
2026-05-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Wednesday, May 6
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Cost: $10 MNHC members/$15 non-members
REGISTER HERE!
In 2013, Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks (FWP) began a 10-year study designed to improve our understanding of Montana’s moose population.
Join biologist and head researcher of this study, Nick DeCesare, in this captivating lecture that summarizes this recently-completed FWP research project concerning the dynamics and decline of moose across Montana. This research was designed to assess the status of moose populations, potential factors limiting populations, and how we can best keep track of moose going forward.
Light refreshments provided.
Register here:

Nature Writing "Hush Hour(s)"
2026-05-11 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-06-08 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-07-13 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-08-10 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-09-14 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-10-12 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-11-09 18:00 - 20:00, 2026-12-14 18:00 - 20:00 and 1 more date | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Second Monday of the Month
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Cost: Free, but please register
REGISTER HERE.
Whatever genre you prefer — poetry, essay, prose, flash, etc. — writing can help us connect with and reflect on our natural surroundings in deeply personal, unexpected, rewarding ways. But finding the time to write can often be challenging. This writing “hush hour(s)” is designed to provide nature writers with a quiet, supportive setting to work on your craft. This isn’t a workshop; this is space to write.
In this group, we’ll spend roughly the first 10-20 minutes inviting individuals to share what projects you’re working on, questions you might have about your work, suggest resources, any hurdles or writing blocks, and writing successes! Then we’ll write, write, write.
Bring your notebook, journal, or computer. Writing prompts will be available if you’re feeling stuck, or just want to play with words. Your MNHC group leaders are Allison De Jong (Montana Naturalist magazine editor and MNHC Field Notes instructor, and writer) and Beth Conway (Events and Marketing Coordinator, and writer).
Feel free to BYOB and snacks. We’ll have light refreshments available.

Virtual Naturalist Book Club #2
2026-05-11 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-09-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-10-12 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-11-09 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-12-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2027-01-11 18:30 - 20:30 | Virtual Zoom Classroom
Date: Monthly, on the second Monday of the month (except January, June, July, and August)
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location/Platform: Virtual Zoom Classroom
The only thing better than reading a fascinating natural history book (and there are so many of them!) is getting to discuss it with a wonderful group of like-minded people. We can help you do that! Join one of our free naturalist book clubs, where you can read and discuss a great new book each month, enjoying various perspectives and insights, all from the comfort of your own home. (Cozy pjs are perfectly acceptable attire.) This book club meets September-May and breaks for the summer.
Book List
September: Light Eaters
October: The Serviceberry
November: The Stubborn Light of Things
December: Flight Paths
January: no meeting this month
February: Woman Among Wolves
March: What an Owl Knows
April: Restoring the Kinship Worldview May: Tenacious Beasts
Your hosts will be Sherry Staub and Cas Kendley. Sherry has led the Sacajawea book club for over two years in Bozeman and has extensively read in the nature book genre. Cas started and led a book club as a UM student and is looking forward to starting an advanced degree in forestry at the UM.
You will need a computer that can access the internet and Zoom platform in order to participate.
Interested in joining? There are spaces available! Email Christine at cmorris [at] montananaturalist [dot] org to sign up.
Group is limited to 10 participants.

Virtual Naturalist Book Club #1
2026-05-12 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-06-09 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-07-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-08-11 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-09-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-10-13 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-11-10 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-12-08 18:30 - 20:30 | Virtual Zoom Classroom
Date: Monthly, on the second Tuesday of the month
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location/Platform: Virtual Zoom Classroom
The only thing better than reading a fascinating natural history book (and there are so many of them!) is getting to discuss it with a wonderful group of like-minded people. We can help you do that! Join one of our free naturalist book clubs, where you can read and discuss a great new book each month, enjoying various perspectives and insights, all from the comfort of your own home. (Cozy pjs are perfectly acceptable attire.)
Your hosts are Master Naturalist Suzanne Hendrich and Deborah Drain.
You will need a computer that can access the internet and Zoom platform in order to participate.
There are some spaces available in this book club. Contact cmorris (at) montananaturalist.org to sign up.
Group is limited to 10 participants.

A Beginner's Guide to Drawing Trees with Jason Poole
2026-05-23 13:00 - 15:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Saturday, May 23, 2026
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Cost: $45 MNHC members/$50 non-members.
Add your MNHC membership to your order when you check out!
REGISTER HERE
Join artist (and paleontologist) Jason Poole for a sketching class focused on trees!
Trees are often a challenge for beginners who want to sketch outside or from photos of landscapes. How do you draw details like intricate branches, textured bark, delicate leaves, or clusters of needles, and make them look realistic? Jason will teach you techniques that will make you much more comfortable with the subject – and sketching in general. Learn tips and tricks of sketching using trees as the focus. You will practice ways of seeing complex structures and how to represent them on paper. Jason will cover structure, texture, weight distribution, layout, mass, and light and shadow.
Bring your favorite sketchbook and pencils or use the materials provided.
Instructor: Jason C. Poole has worn many hats: Adjunct Professor of Paleontology, scientific illustrator, art teacher, and paleontology field instructor. He has excavated dinosaurs on three continents, including Africa and South and North America. Paralititan, Dreadnoughtus, and Suuwassea are three dinosaurs Jason has worked on; all were new to science when discovered and two are supermassive titanosaurs. Jason is also a paleontological artist who’s been published in National Geographic and whose art work appears in many museum and private collections.

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

Screech Owls at Sunset with Adam Potts of the Hoot Owl Project
2026-05-29 20:30 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Friday, May 29, 2026
Time: 8:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Location: Native Plant Garden at Fort Missoula
Cost: Free, but registration required
REGISTER HERE
Screech Owls are among the most widespread owls in the US, but are notoriously enigmatic and difficult to see. Join us the evening of May 29th for a lecture about the ecology of Western Screech Owls, followed by a sundown walk into their riparian habitat. With luck, we’ll get a glimpse into the lives of these small but mighty predators. Our guide for the evening is Adam Potts of the Hoot Owl Project which is advancing research on the barred owl in the Northern Rockies.
Bring your binoculars, if you have them. And please dress in layers and wear closed toe shoes walking in low light through a forest. A headlamp is recommended for the walk back.
Hot coffee and tea provided.

First Friday - Inspired by Nature: Block Prints By David Miles Lusk
2026-06-05 17:00 - 19:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: June 5, 2026
Time: 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History Center
Cost: Free, and open to the public
Join us for a First Friday event with artist David Miles Lusk of Anomal Press, as he shares work from his block print collection. David will provide a brief introduction about his work and its inspiration from the natural world. Come meet the artist, and enjoy a fun night at MNHC!
Light snacks and beverages provided.
Artist Statement: I started making art when I was a kid as a way to make meaning out of the world around me. I would spend hours tromping around the wilderness of Montana, drawing and making marks on anything I could, whether in the margins of my school papers, on a sandy beach, or whittling walking sticks around a campfire. Art has always been my primary tool for processing and learning about this wonderfully weird thing called life.
I was introduced to relief printmaking 20 years ago by my high school art teacher, Marvin Pauls, and was immediately hooked. My love of drawing and whittling wood merged into one process, and I have been practicing ever since. Relief printmaking is both an art and a craft. Each project involves research and keen observation. Every design is drawn, carved, and printed by hand.
I feel so lucky to have grown up in Montana, and its natural beauty has always provided an ample amount of inspiration to keep my imagination flowing. This body of work is a reflection of the love, admiration, curiosity, and gratitude I have for nature. As an artist, there is nothing more satisfying than inspiring others through my work.

Color Mixing Greys, Blacks, and Neutrals for Nature Journaling
2026-06-10 13:30 - 16:30 | Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
Date: Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: Fort Missoula Native Plant Garden
Cost: $45 MNHC members/$50 non-members.
Add your MNHC membership to your order when you check out!
REGISTER HERE! (Registration closes June 3rd.)
Master color mixing with artist Nancy Seiler!
Learn how to match the colors such as the dry hills around Missoula along with rocks and other natural objects that we find on site. By mixing blacks and grays with two or three pigments, you’ll achieve depth and interest in your journal pages instead of the colors looking flat. Nancy will be teaching from the QoR Mini 12-pigment set, so it would benefit you to have this set. The first two hours will be teaching and working with your pigments. The last hour will be color mixing on your own from objects you find at site with Nancy there to help you achieve color matches.
Instructor: Nancy Seiler received her Visual Communications degree from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1981. As a Golden Working Artist for Golden Artist Colors she presents lectures, demonstrations, and workshops in acrylics, watercolors, and oils in Southern California and Montana. She has taught classical botanical illustration and nature journaling since 2003. Her work is represented by Frame of Reference Fine Art in Whitefish and Bigfork, Montana.
Activity level: Easy. We will be sitting at picnic tables and/or folding chairs. Feel free to bring seating that you prefer. The bathrooms are port-a-potties.
What to Bring:

clothes appropriate for changing Montana weather conditions, layers
sunscreen, bug spray
water, snacks
your watercolor set
watercolor paper or watercolor/mixed media journal
#8 round brush or similar
graphite pencil and eraser and/or micro pen (any size point)
anything you may need to be comfortable sitting and journaling outside for 3 hours. There are picnic tables, but you may want your own chair, or pillow, or whatever you use when journaling.

FAQs
What’s the refund policy?
The course fee (minus a 25% administrative fee) is refundable if a cancellation is made up to 7 days before the event. No refunds will be issued for cancellations made after this deadline. See our full refund/cancellation policy here.
Do I have to bring my printed ticket to the event?
Nope! We will have a list of all the attendees.

MNHC Open House!
2026-07-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Montana Natural History Center
Date: Thursday, July 30th
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Montana Natural History center
Cost: Free and open to the public
Join us for an MNHC Open House and Membership Drive! Come and experience a sampling of the incredible programs and nature educators that have defined the Montana Natural History Center for over three decades. We’re hosting micro programs throughout the evening where guests can choose from bird sounds trivia, rock painting and rockhounding, native plant education, taxidermy talk, and so much more! Enjoy print making with artist David Miles Lusk from Anomal Press. And be sure to bring in your gems and rocks and try and stump geologist Bruce Baty! The UM’s own Monte will be there to help teach us a little more about Montana’s bears!
There’s a little something for all interests and all ages. See program details below!
In addition, as we celebrate 35 years of nature education in western Montana, we’ll be unveiling our new display that honors these last three+ decades and invites our community to see themselves in the next great chapter of MNHC.
This Open House coincides with our Membership Drive. Our goal is to double our current membership. Come and check out MNHC and get to know more about our quality programming and membership benefits that include free admission to over 300 science and natural centers across the nation, including Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman and Exploration Works in Helena.
Ice cream and light refreshments included!
We can’t wait to host you on July 30th at this special community event.
ALL programs are FREE (unless noted) and open to the public. Here is a little bit of what we have in store!
Printmaking with David Lusk! Bring in a T-shirt, tea towel, or any piece of fabric you’d like, for printmaking with local Montana artist David Miles Lusk of Anomal Press. We’ll have all the supplies you need, just bring your fabric item and David will print it for you. While you’re here, take a look at MNHC’s gallery that currently features a collection of David’s work inspired by nature! Cost is $20 per pull, paid to Anomal Press.
Rock Painting and Garden Stepping Stones! Great activities for kids and kids-at-heart, educators Nora Christy and Erin Vielbig invite you to transform rocks into garden creatures, and build stepping stones inspired by some of our favorite pollinators and native plants. Nora and Erin are two of our incredible Teaching Naturalists in our VNS program, working with 4th- and 5th-graders throughout classrooms in western Montana. BEE ready for fun!
Bear Aware with the Griz’s Monte! Get up-close with bear claws, skulls, and scat?! and learn more about responsible cohabiting with bears in Montana, including a bear spray demonstration. Naturalist and wildlife biology student Elisa Spencer leads this program and is ready to share her years of bear work as a zookeeper and her undergrad research with grizzly skulls. Plus, the U of M’s Monte has a few (literal) tricks up his sleeve to make bear education extra memorable!
MONTANA ROCKS! Gems, minerals, and rocks – oh my! Bring in some of your favorite rocky treasures and geologist Bruce Baty will tell you a little more about the natural history of your crystals, minerals, and more. With almost six decades of geology studies under his belt (or belt-rock, if you will) if you can stump Bruce, you’ll receive a special prize!
CHIRP! TWEET! Do you hear that? Test your knowledge of bird calls and songs with Teaching Naturalist and birder Ryan Mahar. In addition to teaching 4th- and 5th-graders in our Visiting Naturalist in the Schools program, Ryan often leads our birding programs for our Master Naturalist Certification Course and hosts our Naturalist Trivia nights. He loves a good game, especially one that invites you to learn how to recognize patterns and rhythms in bird vocalizations that you can take with you on the trail!
Are You a Rockhound? Find a rock! Family fun! Practice a little bit of rockhounding and learn the difference between a rock a mineral. Educator and MNHC’s Community Programs Coordinator Christine Morris leads this fun activity that includes the chance to learn more about the incredible complexity of the rocks we walk upon every day! AND you get to take home a treasure all you own!
Talking Taxidermy! While taxidermy can’t talk, they do have a story to tell! MNHC’s Collections Manager, Alyssa Cornell, will share the history of some of our most storied and unusual taxidermy at the museum, and provide insight into this unique art form and education tool! You’ll also have the chance to learn more about specimens in our collections that aren’t always available to the everyday public!
