K-12 Campus Visits
We Are Montana On Campus
Are you planning a visit for K-12 students to the University of Montana? Learn more below about UM programs that offer field trips and visits for students on campus.
Plan a Campus Visit
We Are Montana in the Classroom connects K-12 students and teachers with UM role models (faculty, graduate students, and professionals) who lead hands-on activities designed to inspire students about higher education and career pathways. We Are Montana in the Classroom can send a UM role model to your school or we can arrange for you to visit a lab, studio, or classroom while you are visiting campus.
Capacity: 25 students (or one full class)
Recommended ages: K-12
Cost: Free
Contact: Kit Smith (kit.smith@umontana.edu)
The Autonomous Aerial Systems Office offers a hands-on, creative, problem-solving activity learning basic Python programming to fly small drones.
Capacity: 15-20 students
Recommended ages: 4th grade and up
Cost: $100 per hour and a half
Contact: Jeremy Crowley (jeremy.crowley@mso.umt.edu)
Join UM Media Arts professor and UM ESports team director Michael Cassens in UM's new ESports training facility to learn about gaming concepts, create a mobile application/game, and deploy it on a smartphone and share with others. Students will learn about UM’s Game Design and Interactive Media Program, meet UM ESports players, and learn about the team.
Capacity: 15-30
Recommended ages: Middle-High School
Cost: Free
Contact: Michael Cassens (michael.cassens@umontana.edu)
Grizzly Athletics Facilities Tours include guided access to the Hall of Champions, Sky Club, and Washington-Grizzly Stadium football field as available. Other areas may also be included in the tour subject to availability. Tours are normally scheduled for a one hour time block which including a 30 minute tour and 30 minutes of access to the football field.
Capacity: 30-35 people per tour
Recommended ages: All ages
Cost: Free
Contact: Please fill out the request form or call 243-2222.
Go Griz!
Visit the Montana Media Lab in the School of Journalism!
1) Record your own podcast and create your own audio program.
2) Make a music video for YouTube using green screen technology.
Capacity: 20 students
Recommended ages: Tailor to any age
Cost: Free
Contact: mtmedialab@gmail.com
The Montana Museum of Art and Culture, the state's largest and deepest collection of art, exhibits, and important works from many cultures and periods and features several rotating exhibitions each year. Information about current shows is available on the MMAC website or by calling 243-2019. Docent tours are tailored to fit the interests of students and teachers.
Capacity: 30 students, plus teachers/chaperones
Ages: All ages
Cost: Free
Contact: Peggy Nesbitt (peggy.nesbitt@mso.umt.edu)
Medical Detectives is a half-day program developed by the Office of Health Research & Partnership for high school students to learn about the cross-section between genetics, medicine, and biomedical research. High school students and their teachers would visit the UM campus to conduct biotechnology procedures to diagnosis a medical disorder for a family, learn about opioid addiction, or try to detect antibiotic resistance in the environment.
Capacity: 30 students
Recommended ages: high school students
Cost: Free
Contact: Lily Apedaile (lily.apedaile@mso.umt.edu)
The UM Paleontology Collection has an estimated 40,000 specimen-lots, with over 2,000 being type (published) specimens, that represent the ancient heritage of North America, as well as containing specimens from over 20 different countries.
Capacity: 27 students
Recommended ages: 3rd grade and up
Cost: $25 per hour
Contact: Kallie Moore (kallie.moore@mso.umt.edu)
Philip L. Wright Zoological Museum (UMZM) a natural history museum located at the University of Montana containing over 22,500 specimens of birds and mammals. UMZM is the largest zoological collection in Montana and serves as the principal repository for important bird and mammal state records.
Capacity: 30 students
Recommended ages: 3rd grade and up
Cost: $25/hour
Contact: umzm@mso.umt.edu
Planetarium shows will familiarize you with the constellations, planets, and bright deep sky objects currently visible, as well as any exciting upcoming celestial events. The remainder of each show can be tailored to include any specific topic(s) that you are studying in your classroom.
Capacity: 27 students, 3 chaperones
Recommended ages: All ages
Cost: $60 per show (discounts available for schools with multiple bookings)
Contact: planetarium@mso.umt.edu
Located just across the river in the new Missoula Public Library, spectrUM Discovery Area is dedicated to inspiring a culture of learning and discovery for all. As the University's hands-on science museum, spectrUM offers free admission to everyone.
Cost: Free
Contact: spectrUM@umontana.edu
spectrUM offers guided field trips to explore featured exhibits and participate in educator-guided activities, designed to meet Next Generation Science Standards.
Capacity: 35
Recommended ages: K-12
Length: 90 minutes
Cost: $5.00 per student (minimum of $75)
Scholarships for students and buses are available.
Contact: Caitlin Ervin (caitlin.ervin@mso.umt.edu)
UM's Conference on Undergraduate Research is hosted annually in April. The conference showcases and highlights the work of undergraduate researchers from all disciplines.
High school classes are invited to join us! At least one chaperone must be on-campus with the students as a point of contact. The conference is broken into sections, and you are welcome to join for as much or as little as you would like. To learn more about the conference, please contact Kit.
Cost: Free
Recommended ages: high school students
Date: April 19, 2024 (9am-5pm)
Contact: Kit Smith kit.smith@umontana.edu
REACH (Research and Explore Awesome Careers in Healthcare) is a day-long camp offered by Western Montana AHEC for high school students at their local healthcare facility or on the UM college campus to explore careers in the medical field. Students will rotate through different stations where they will learn hands-on healthcare skills.
Capacity: 50-60 students per day
Recommended ages: middle and high school students
Cost: Free
Contact: Jillian Hull (jillian.hull@mso.umt.edu)