Special Tours--Real and Virtual

We have some new and exciting things happening in our tour program. 

1. Nancy Russell (as interpreted by Mary Jane Bradbury) has agreed to continue giving tours of MHS's Mackay Gallery of Russell Art through the end of the school year. In this living history tour, Nancy shares first-hand stories about her life with Charlie and the integral role she played in creating his remarkable legacy.
2. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the US entering WWI, Bobi Harris has revamped the tours at the Original Governor's Mansion to better reflect what was going on during WWI, when Governor Stewart and his family lived in the mansion. Much of the tour is also told through the perspective of the three Stewart girls, giving a kid's-eye view of life from 1910-1921.
3. We've gotten good feedback on our new story-based tour of the exhibit "Neither Empty Nor Unknown: Montana at the Time of Lewis and Clark." Request the story tour to experience it for yourself.

You can book any of these tours, or our traditional tours of the museum and capitol by calling 406-444-3695 or 406-444-4789. 

Can't make it to Helena or want to extend your tour with pre- and post-tour lessons? 

1. Every school library received a copy of our Montana's Charlie Russell packet, with lesson plans, PowerPoints, and art prints. The material is also online--and we still have some packets left, so feel free to email us if you want one for your own classroom.) And consider watching the 18-minute "Montana's Charlie Russell: A Visit with Nancy Cooper Russell" on YouTube. 
2. Consider ordering our hands-on history footlocker, Original Governor’s Mansion: Home to the Stewart Family in Turbulent Times, 1913-1921, which offers an opportunity to investigate life and politics during the Progressive Era and World War I, 1913-1921, as well as the history and architecture of a magnificent building. Check out the Virtual Tour of the OGM and explore the history of Montana during World War I via this interactive Story Map.
3. We've created PowerPoint tour of Neither Empty Nor Unknown: Montana at the Time of Lewis and Clark using the same stories we tell at the museum--as well as pre- and post-tour lesson plans. 

We're always interested in how you integrate your tours into your curriculum. If you've developed any pre- or post-tour lessons that make your students' visits to the Museum, Capitol or Original Governor's Mansion more meaningful than they would be otherwise, I'd love to hear about them.

P.S. Only ONE teacher has successfully completed our WWI challenge. I still have 4 prizes left. Get to work and you may be one of our lucky winners.