Montana Science Center

Montana Science Center (MSC), formerly Children's Museum of Bozeman (CMB), aims to create a robust suite of interactive exhibit experiences and programs in science and technology, creating opportunities for youth, children, and adults to engage critically and creatively, while working together. Through these exhibits and programs, MSC aims to lower the barriers to access for any group, regardless of age, socioeconomic status, location (rural vs. urban), or existing skill ability. By presenting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in a thoughtfully-developed, informal manner, MSC aims to intrigue and inspire visitors of any and every age, stemming an increased curiosity.

We aim to meet these goals in our STEAM Programs:
1. STEAM Learning for All Students. Reducing financial barriers to participation in our programs is an essential component of MSC’s mission. As high-tech learning materials are often expensive, many youth have limited access to such tools. MSC helps meet the needs of today’s students by serving as a locus for hands­-on, high-­tech learning across a range of grade levels, regardless of individual family incomes.
2. Exposure to the local science community. With increased access to local scientists, students will be able envision a future in the STEM fields, within their own community. While many STEM positions require a four-year college degree, MPIA (Montana Photonics Industry Alliance) and MSC are fostering a variety of STEM-oriented career pathways for all students, facilitating and encouraging the school to high-quality job pipeline available here in Montana.
3. Actionable Data. Our programs will deliver valuable data on best practice and methodology for teaching technology, achieving scaffolded, diversified learning outcomes through student involvement in the MSC STEAM Connections field trip program. MSC uses this data to design and refine high-tech STEM curriculum. Data will also be shared with our collaborators.
4. Practical Experience for Teachers in Training. Our initiative is to help students and their parents successfully navigate and influence a rapidly-changing world. As such, we are partnering with MSU’s Teacher Education Team, led by Professor Joseph Hicks, to find and utilize cutting­-edge tools, develop methodologies, and implement best practices. STEAM Connections serves as a practicum site which offers vital training to the next generation of science and technology teachers.
As MSC continues to expand and grow, we aim to increase our local hosting and state-wide outreach of high-quality, highly-tech, and locally-designed and developed STEM education throughout Montana, demonstrating that we truly are the Montana Science Center.

With the rebranding to Montana Science Center, from Children’s Museum of Bozeman, MSC has begun a long-term strategy for increasing its status and community emplacement as the state’s leading science and technology center. This will be achieved through skilled scaffolding of exhibit experiences and a expansion of high-tech STEM program offerings. Additionally, our Women in STEM program brings together local female scientists and engineers at MSC family outreach events, facilitating meaningful connections between local industry opportunities and showcases ways in which females can and have entered into these fields successfully.
Our collaboration and partnership with Montana universities and colleges, with MPIA (Montana Photonics Industry Alliance), and with other key alliances will assist us in researching, designing, and implementing key research, programs, and grants that support our mission and the future of advancing Montana STEM education. Our intensive training and mentoring program includes preservice teachers and volunteers, recent graduates, current university students, and high school and middle school students. Our informal, interactive learning space allows for flexible, hands-on training and skill development of using technology in the classroom. The MSC STEAM Team is MSC’s local outreach team, made up of trained student mentors, able and enthusiastic about sharing their STEM understanding and skill set with others.
We also collaborate with several local nonprofits, especially those providing targeted children’s and family services, offering reduced admission rates and planning outreach events at which we can better support the local community at large through partnered service.

Montana Science Center (MSC) has almost two decades of history in the Bozeman community, beginning as the Children's Museum of Bozeman (CMB). Our institution has always been focused on providing the community, its families, and its youth with STEM-focused exhibit experiences and programs. Since creating the STEAMlab, our high-tech MakerSpace, in 2016, we’ve seen more than a 100% growth in STEAMlab-specific programs. This massive, sustainable growth has acted as a catalyst for the rest of the Center, allowing us to explore and develop more interactive, scaffolded STEM programs for MSC as a whole. These include elevating our Preschool Program, to provide standards-based science experiments, in addition to other STEAM experiences. Our Family Science Days have gained recognition in the local community with the creation and incorporation of a Women in STEM Program, made up of professional female scientists and engineers. We’ve also developed a STEAM Team (originally our Near Peer Mentor program), made up of trained university, high, and middle school students, assisting with MSC outreach, camp implementation, and as a mentorship opportunity for older youth who might not otherwise find a like-minded, safe, fun community of tech tinkerers.
MSC guided by a working board and a staff that is made up of experienced, specialized members and local, professional volunteers. Our increasing partnership with schools, PACs, and our expanded, standards-aligned, interactive field trip curriculum has grown our capacity to support and advise Montana’s educational community, based on our extensive, informal educational experiences with a broad range of students from several counties across Montana. Since 2016, our field trip program has grown 100%, serving more than 8 different Montana counties, 33% of whom are from Title 1 schools. Since 2016, the STEAMlab’s Open Lab program, a time of self-directed play and access to the STEAMlab’s high-tech resources and skilled staff guidance, has grown more than 200%. STEAMlab programs, designed to provide hands-on, project-based learning using high-tech tools and resources boasts a gender equality of 46% female youth, all without labeling any one program as being gender specific.
As MSC continues to grow, and outgrow our current space, we are actively searching for a new, larger space, allowing us to further expand our offerings to the community and state. We’ve established funding with foundations that recognize STEM importance, and increased our partnerships with state universities, local industry alliances, and community organizations.

Montana Science Center has successfully rebranded itself this year, from the Children’s Museum of Bozeman, fullying developing itself into a science center and elevating its presence to match its mission and vision. This rebrand reflects the expansion of our programs and exhibit experiences to serve all ages, not just young children and their caregivers, with innovative, interactive STEM learning. Our visitation this past year has been its strongest yet, surpassing 20,000 people.
We have introduced several new programs, including: Family Science Days, Women in STEM, a standards-aligned preschool science program. New exhibit experiences include: Rigamajig, expanded Physics Place, and a nearly-completed Electric Dollhouse.
The STEAMlab, our high-tech makerspace area, has doubled its program offerings and grown in participation by more than 100% in the last year. This increase has continued at a sustainable, strong rate throughout this year, demonstrating a strong community interest, especially from older youth who are otherwise underserved with informal opportunities to develop career-relevant STEM skills and training in a safe, community-oriented setting. STEAMlab participation numbers have increased, as has involvement in the STEAM Team, MSC’s student mentoring program, and in furthering established partnerships with MSU professors, academic departments, local educators, and local industry professionals.
STEAM Connections, MSC’s Field Trip program has introduced new curriculum, expanding the quality of its content and age-range. Field trip numbers and Montana counties reached have increased alike, with groups as young as Pre-K coming to enjoy the new Bugs curriculum, on the one hand, and at-risk high school students and university preservice teachers coming to learn about soldering circuits, local career pathways in photonics, and programming.