Hands-on History Footlockers, a Crow Creation Story, and an upcoming PD

Crow Creation Story on Vimeo

Last week, as part of my IEFA Roundup, I sent out a link to the AWW CREATION STORY on Vimeo that a couple of people said didn't work. Here's the correct link: https://vimeo.com/404626502 [vimeo.com]. 

Elk River Writing Project Workshop, October 19-October 22

If you aren't planning on attending the MFPE Educators Conference (and you should definitely plan on attending) you might want to go to Gardiner/Mammoth Hot Springs to attend "Yellowstone National Park: Cultures, Conversations, and Contemplations," an incredible looking workshop put on by the Elk River Writing Project. Presenters will include Dr. Shane Doyle (Apsáalooke) and Montana Poet Laureate Tami Haaland; Elk River Writing Project teacher-leaders Casey Olsen and Lorrie Henrie-Koski will facilitate writing connections throughout the institute. Learn more, including how to register, here.  

Footlockers from the Montana State Library

The Montana State Library has a small number of trunks available for public libraries and educational organizations to borrow, each with a selection of fun activities that could appeal to a wide range of ages. Here is a list of the trunks with a short description. You can click on each trunk name to get a more detailed list of trunk items, activity outlines, and associated files. 

• Giant Map of Montana Trunk: The Giant Map of Montana Trunk contains a 21’ x 15’ map of the state of Montana that people can walk on (no shoes, please!), explore, and have fun with! This educational tool has endless possibilities for learning opportunities, especially in geography and map-reading.
• NASA @ My Library Sun-Earth-Moon Connections Trunk: This trunk focuses on activities and experiences that better help patrons understand their place in space, and how the Sun and Moon impact our planet. 
• NASA @ My Library Be A NASA Detective Trunk: This trunk focuses on activities and experiences that help patrons be more comfortable with using tools of science and making predictions based on their observations. This trunk focuses on things we cannot see with our normal vision or sense with our normal senses.
• Montana's Aquatic Life: Past and Present Trunk: This trunk contains materials and activities that showcase Montana's aquatic life from long ago up until now! Created in partnership with Museum of the Rockies and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.
• Bat Week Celebration Trunk: This trunk contains activities to help libraries educate Montanans on how cool bats are, and the important role that they play in our environment and ecosystem. Created in partnership with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.

You can find more information on how to request and borrow a trunk, as well as trunk usage expectations, on the state library website. You can also watch the MSL Trunk Program Webinar from 8/26/22 for more details on the trunks and activities available. If you have any questions, please contact Amelea Kim at akim@mt.gov. 

Speaking of Footlockers...

If you aren't using our hands-on history footlockers, you are missing out. 

• Find a list of available Montana Historical Society-created footlockers and view their User Guides here.
• Find out which footlockers are still available to reserve here.
• Then email coordinator Katie White your preferred dates, the title of the footlocker you’d like to order, the school name, the school shipping address, the phone number, and the number of students/teachers who will be using the footlocker.

It's that easy. You get to keep the footlocker for two weeks. There is no rental fee, but schools must pay the cost of shipping footlockers to the next venue (typically between $35-$50). More details on how the program works here.