For more then half a century school tours of the museums have been a valuable resource for teachers and part of growing up in Montana.  We invite you to bring your class on a field trip to any of our museum sites to explore the history of Montana.

School Tour Guidelines

Fees
Fees for school tours are based on a minimum charge of $25.00 for the first thirty individuals. Each additional person is charged .50. Fees include admission to The Museum of the Northern Great Plains & Homestead Village, Museum of the Upper Missouri, Old Fort Benton and the Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center.  If you wish to see only the Interpretive Center, there is no charge for students.

Time Needed
We would suggest allowing a minimum of 1 ½ - 2 hours for the Museum of the Northern Great Plains and Village and the same amount of time for the Museum of the Upper Missouri and Old Fort Benton. The Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center has several educational programs ranging in length from 1 – 2 hours. Please let us know when you call to schedule if you are interested in these programs. We will put you in touch with their coordinator and figure this time into your tour schedule.

Please provide one adult chaperone for every 10 students. Dress warmly! There is no heat, so even on a nice spring or fall day, it is quite chilly in the museums.

Our guides will generally arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled tour time and will wait 15 minutes after your appointed time. Please call us at 406-622-5316 if you are going to be late, so they can adjust their schedule. If your time is limited, or you wish to focus on one area of study consider visiting the venue that fits your main focus and returning when you have time to see more.

Focus Areas
The focus areas are as follows:
●  Museum of the Northern Great Plains – Agriculture and Homestead Era
●  Museum of the Upper Missouri – Steamboat Era and Fort Benton area history ●  Old Fort Benton – Fur Trade Era
●  Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center – Natural and Cultural history of the
    Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and Wild and Scenic River.

Self Guided Tours
After our opening date in May and until we close the end of September, the museums are self-guided, except for the fort.

TEACHERS PACKETS

The information included in these packets is designed to be used by elementary classes during their tour of The Museum of the Northern Great Plains, the Museum of the Upper Missouri, and Historic Old Fort Benton.

The information contains the Students History Hunt packet and the instructors answer key.

The packet is presented in a printer-friendly format (Adobe .pdf) for easy downloading and printing. Adobe Reader is needed to view these packets.

Thanks to: Tammerah Robertson and Suzanne Hough at Shelby Elementary School, Shelby, Montana for developing the History Hunt.