By Michael Howell
Last Thursday, Stevensville students and their families and friends had the opportunity to attend a free Family Science Night and enjoy the University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area’s newest traveling exhibition, called “Water.”
The spectrUM Discovery Area’s mobile science program travels statewide with hands-on science exhibits and activities guided by museum educators. According to spectrUM Director Holly Truitt, the goal of its mobile outreach is “to inspire Montana’s next generation about STEM [science, technology, engineering, math] and higher education and to help power a vibrant, homegrown workforce in our state.”
Created with researchers from the Montana Institute on Ecosystems, “Water” features interactive exhibits and hands-on activities exploring ecosystems science. Highlights of the exhibition include a virtual watershed sandbox, a groundwater model and spectrUM’s popular erosion table. The exhibition is funded by the Montana Institute on Ecosystems, the Montana National Science Foundation EPSCoR Program and the Clark Fork Coalition. The Stevensville tour stop was sponsored by the Jane S. Heman Foundation.
Additional spectrUM sponsors include the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, NASA, the Martin Family Foundation, the Montana Space Grant Consortium, the Simons Foundation, the Bonneville Power Administration, GSK-Science in the Summer, and the O.P. and W.E. Edwards Foundation.
For more information or to book a school visit, call spectrUM Director Holly Truitt at 406-243-4872 or visit http://www.spectrum.umt.edu