Virtual Programs

Virtual Programs

INTRODUCING THE E.L. WIEGAND DIGITAL LEARNING STUDIO

Due to generous support from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, we are thrilled to operate from the  E.L. Wiegand Digital Learning Studio. Museum of the Rockies has been facilitating online learning programs for students across Montana, the nation, and around the world since 2018, and with this new space and technology, we anticipate reaching more students and life-long learners than ever before.

This space is fully equipped with multiple cameras, including one for streaming to classrooms over Zoom, one for PowerPoint presentations, and one for showing close details, like the serrations of a Tyrannosaurus rex tooth. There is also a green screen, which will allow educators to show maps, dig sites, and many other exciting possibilities. The room has been flushed with teaching specimens of all varieties of biological, geological, and historical nature. All décor in this space is meant to be touched, taught with, and will inspire curiosity for the natural world in all who visit Museum of the Rockies. The front of the studio that faces the Siebel Dinosaur Complex is lined with floor-to-ceiling windows that allow museum visitors to view and watch our programs in real time.

This year, we joined as a content provider for the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) platform, the best streaming collaborative network in the world, which will allow us to stream lessons to CILC's 40,000 active members in 112 countries with the potential to reach 3.5 million students worldwide with our programs about Montana history, paleontology, dinosaurs, Native American and Indigenous history, and so much more.

Thanks to the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, we can now inspire curiosity and life-long learning in all who attend our digital programming in this stunning new technological space. It is our mission to bring Montana to the world, and the world to Montana, and we express our sincere gratitude for this invaluable opportunity. To book or explore virtual programs, email us at moroutreach@montana.edu or book directly on CILC.org. View past livestream program recordings on the Online Learning Resources page of this website.

Virtual Fossil Fridays

Fossil Friday will resume in September. Until then, have a great summer!

Join Outreach Program Manager Ashley Hall for Virtual Fossil Friday! Discover the fascinating history of one of the museum's incredible fossil specimens and learn how it contributes to our understanding of life on Earth. Bring your curiosity and questions! 

Join via Zoom with this link
Most Fridays, 9 - 10 a.m. MST
Free and open to the public

9/12/2025

Oryctodromeus: The Burrowing Dinosaur with L.J. Krumenacker

9/19/2025

Exploring the Lyme Regis Museum with Kieran Satchell

9/26/2025

Walking in Mary Anning's Footsteps with Ashley Hall

10/3/2025

Dino Doodles with Ruby Pines: Ichthyosaurs

10/10/2025

National Fossil Day: Famous Fossils from Public Lands

10/17/2025

Protecting Fossils on Public Lands with Maxmillion Scott

10/24/2025

2025 Fieldwork Update: Lee Hall and Dr. John Scannella

10/31/2025

Phantom Lineages: Tracing Evolutionary Origins of Halloween Creatures

11/7/2025

Echoes of the Land: Dinosaurs Named from Indigenous Territories

12/5/2025

Dino Doodles with Ruby Pines: Nanuqsaurus family

12/12/2025

Canada's Northern Dinosaurs - Pachyrhinosaurus, Troodon, and more

Streamable Learning Virtual Programs

Our partners at Streamable Learning have made MOR programs available for free to schools, libraries, and homeschools. Please register using the links found in the grid below. Livestream programs utilize Zoom livestreaming rooms. To access, you will be required to download Zoom, which can be done at zoom.us/download

Museum of the Rockies (MOR) wants all Montana schoolchildren to be able to engage with museum paleontologists, so were bringing the museum to YOU! In partnership with Streamable Learning, MOR will connect with classrooms around the state and country to learn about paleontology. Programs are always free for Montana schools with advanced registration! No special equipment is required to participate.

ProgramDateLinkTime and LengthGradeDescription
BONE-voyage! A Fossil’s Journey from the Field to the LabTuesday, September 9Click to Register11:10 a.m. MDT; Length: 45 min.2 - 6From discovery to seeing enormous dinosaurs in the museum, a fossil’s journey is fascinating. MOR's Paleontology Lab and Field Manager, Lee Hall, will tell the story of the process of paleontology - from first discovering a fossil in the field to exhibiting entire dinosaurs in a museum in a fun and engaging way. This program will help illustrate the importance of paleontology and its role within the sciences, and as an exciting career for students interested in studying the history of life on Earth.
Montana Dinosaurs 101Wednesday, November 5Click to Register11:10 a.m. MST; Length: 45 min.2 - 6Join us to learn all about Montana’s dinosaurs! From Tyrannosaurus rex to Triceratops, Montana is home to some of the world’s most famous dinosaur discoveries. In this program, you will learn where some of Museum of the Rockies’ best fossils have been discovered in the state and why Montana’s geology is perfect for discovering some of the world’s most famous dinosaurs.
Looking Inside Dinosaurs: PaleohistologyTuesday, December 2Click to Register12:10 p.m. MST; Length: 45 min.6 - 12What can we learn about dinosaurs by looking inside of their bones? Join MOR's Paleohistology Lab Manager, Ellen-Thérèse Lamm, to explore her unique role in science and discover how researchers use microscopic information to piece together details about extinct animals.
5 Dinosaur FamiliesThursday, February 19Click to Register10:10 a.m. MST; Length: 45 min.K - 3How do scientists categorize dinosaurs? Long necked sauropods, frilled ceratopsians, and duck-billed hadrosaurs are only three of the five groups of dinosaurs that we will explore in this program. Join a museum educator to learn more about the lives of these incredible dinosaurs!
The Rock Cycle Tuesday, March 3Click to Register12:10 p.m. MST; Length: 45 min.4 - 8Rocks, rock! While rocks aren’t living things (or even squishy, for that matter!), they still go through cycles – changing and morphing from one type to another over time. Learn about the three basic rock types with paleontologist Ashley Hall, and how sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks form and change through Earth’s dynamic forces.
T. rex, Triceratops, and MOR: Dinosaurs of the Hell Creek FormationMonday, May 11Click to Register11:10 a.m. MDT; Length: 45 min.2 - 6The Hell Creek Formation in Montana and surrounding areas contains the fossils of some of the last non-avian dinosaurs to walk the Earth. Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, and more all roamed the area about 66 million years ago. Join MOR's John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology, Dr. John Scannella, to travel back to the end of the Cretaceous Period and meet the dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Formation!
Science of Jurassic WorldWednesday, June 10Click to Register10:10 a.m. MDT; Length: 45 min.2 - 6How much of Jurassic Park is grounded in real science, and how much is pure Hollywood magic? Can we actually recreate dinosaurs from ancient amber? Do the famous words “life finds a way” hold up under scientific scrutiny? Join a paleontologist for a fascinating journey through the science and storytelling of the Jurassic Park franchise. Discover which dinosaurs were real, which ones were made for the movies, and how paleontologists actually uncover the history of life on Earth. We will dig into the process of paleontology, explore the paleobiology of the movie’s most iconic prehistoric creatures, and separate cinematic fiction from ancient fact. Bring your curiosity and your questions!

Virtual Field Trips

If you are unable to visit the museum in person, you can still explore it from the comfort of your home or classroom!

Virtual field trips run approximately an hour and offer live, one-on-one interactions through our museum galleries in real time via Zoom. Outreach Program Manager Ashley Hall, will guide you through our exhibit halls and highlight our many incredible artifacts, dinosaurs, and so much more. Virtual tours require a Zoom login, computer/smart device, webcam, and the internet.

  • Classes are $50 each and free for Title 1 schools
  • To book a virtual field trip, email visitmor@montana.edu.
  • Programs are typically 40 minutes with time for questions, and can be adjusted by request.

Dive into a virtual tour of our new primary exhibit at MOR! Discover the Two Medicine and Judith River Formations, which reveal Montana's past as home to amazing animals that lived before the famous Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops.

Journey through ancient ecosystems where Maiasaura cared for their young, Daspletosaurus prowled the landscape, and Mosasaurus patrolled the Western Interior Seaway. This engaging experience brings the ancient world to life with vivid visuals, expert insights, and interactive storytelling.

Have you ever wanted to walk with dinosaurs? Take a tour of Museum of the Rockies’ famous Hall of Horns and Teeth on this live, VIRTUAL exploration! This tour covers the Late Cretaceous Period, which was the last, most dynamic period of the dinosaurs before the devastating extinction 66 million years ago. Virtually visit our world-class collection of Tyrannosaurus rex to see how they grew and changed from tiny tyrant to bone-crushing adult; get nose-to-nose with Triceratops, see dinosaur skin fossils, and explore the ancient ecosystems in which the dinosaurs lived.

Explore dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods! Take a virtual tour of the Museum of the Rockies’ famous Hall of Giants where HUGE, long-necked sauropods ruled and Allosaurus was the largest predator of its time. This tour covers our most famous residents – “Big Al” the Allosaurus, sauropod dinosaurs, the sickle-clawed predator Deinonychus, the burrowing dinosaur, Oryctodromeus; and plesiosaurs that once swam Montana’s ancient seaway.

Want to bring history to life? Explore Montana’s rich Paugh History Hall artifacts from the 1890s and into the 20th century. From gold panning to fur trapping, to life in the 1890s, this virtual history tour explores the many dynamic stories that our artifacts can tell. If interested in this tour, please specify what aspect of Montana history you would like your tour guide to focus on or feature.

Virtual Classes

Learn with us from your home or classroom from the museum’s digital learning studio! Virtual classes run approximately an hour in length and cover a variety of subjects in natural history, archaeology, paleontology, history, and so many other -ologies. Virtual field trips require a Zoom login, computer/smart device, webcam, and the internet.

Join us to learn all about Montana’s dinosaurs! From Tyrannosaurus rex to Triceratops, Montana is home to some of the world’s most famous dinosaur discoveries. In this program, you will learn where some of Museum of the Rockies’ best fossils have been discovered in the state and why Montana’s geology is perfect for discovering some of the world’s most famous dinosaurs.

How do scientists categorize dinosaurs? Giant, long-necked sauropods, frilled ceratopsians, and duck-billed hadrosaurs are only three of the five groups of dinosaurs that we will explore in this program. Join us to learn more about the lives of these incredible dinosaurs and see real dinosaur fossils up close. Bring your curiosity and questions!

Rocks, rock! While rocks aren’t living things (or even squishy, for that matter!), they still go through cycles – changing and morphing from one type to another over BILLIONS of years’ time. Learn about the three basic rock types with Outreach Manager Ashley Hall, and how sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks form and change through Earth’s dynamic forces.

What can we learn about dinosaurs by looking inside of their bones? Join MOR's Paleohistology Lab Manager Ellen-Thérès Lamm to explore her unique role in science and discover how researchers use microscopic information to piece together details about extinct animals.

The Hell Creek Formation in Montana and surrounding areas contains the fossils of some of the last non-avian dinosaurs to walk the Earth. Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, Pachycephalosaurus, and more all roamed the area about 66 million years ago. Join MOR's John R. Horner Curator of Paleontology, Dr. John Scannella, to travel back to the end of the Cretaceous Period and meet the dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Formation!

From discovery to seeing enormous dinosaurs in the museum, a fossil’s journey is fascinating. A MOR paleontologist will tell the story of the process of paleontology, from first discovering a fossil in the field to exhibiting entire dinosaurs in a museum in a fun and engaging way. From very young students to high school, this program will help illustrate the importance of paleontology and its role within the sciences, and as an exciting career for students interested in studying the history of life on Earth.

What did T. rex look like growing up? Through Montana’s rich fossil record, paleontologists have pieced together what these incredible dinosaurs looked like - from tiny hatchlings to bone-crushing adults. What did their eggs look like? Did they have feathers? What did a teenage T. rex look like? Join an MOR paleontologist to learn about the dynamic life of Tyrannosaurus rex.

Birds are dinosaurs, and they are hard-working parents! Birds care for their babies by providing food and protection so that they can grow strong enough to leave the nest, but what about their ancient dinosaur relatives? Dinosaur parental care was a real mystery until the discovery of Maiasaura nesting grounds in northern Montana. Schedule time with an MOR paleontologist for a trip to Montana’s ancient dinosaur nursery, where you will learn about dinosaur nests, eggs, and babies, and why Maiasaura really was the “good mother lizard”!

How much of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World franchise is based in reality, and what is movie magic? Can scientists recreate dinosaurs from ancient amber? Does life really find a way? Learn about the process of paleontology with a real paleontologist and the paleobiology of the world’s most famous dinosaurs through the lens of these popular films.

Have you ever wondered how dinosaur bones are discovered? How do you become a paleontologist? Schedule a visit with one of MOR's paleontologists to engage your class or school in a Q&A session, answering all your students’ hard, fun, and challenging questions about dinosaurs.

What happens to a dinosaur bone after it comes back from the field? Engage with one of MOR's fossil preparators about the tools of the trade and what it’s like to clean fossils for their job.

Do your students love history? What is it like to work in a museum? Schedule time with MOR's cultural history team to answer questions about our museum’s history collection from Montana and the mysteries they contain.

Virtual Class + Outreach Kit Hybrid Program

Book this ultimate experience for your class and receive a virtual program WITH an outreach kit for MOR hands-on fun! Outreach kits are checked out by the week, and the virtual program will be scheduled in coordination with the teacher.

  • To book a virtual class + outreach kit, email moroutreach@montana.edu
  • Fossils Kit | Grades 2 – 6
  • The fee of $140 includes a virtual program and a week’s rental of the outreach kit. The fee for shipping back to MOR is the responsibility of the renter, school, or institution. 
  • Free for Title 1 schools

What is a forest? Discover the components of a forest ecosystem through the case study of Yellowstone National Park. This hybrid virtual program pairs the materials in the Yellowstone Forest Ecosystem outreach kit with the expertise of a live Museum of the Rockies educator. Give your students the opportunity to touch real skulls and pelts of various animals, as well as examine rubber tracks, books, and more! Lessons focus on food webs, animal adaptations, species diversity, and human impacts.

Dig in and explore paleontology, biology, and geology through hands-on fun! The kit includes interactive lessons that provide students with the context necessary for studying dinosaurs by introducing them to the geologic timeline and key events in Earth’s history. This hybrid virtual program pairs the materials in the Dinosaur Basics Kit with the expertise of a live Museum of the Rockies educator. Students will study the differences between avian and non-avian dinosaurs, make observations about the size and measurements of different dinosaurs, and draw comparisons between the habitats and biological characteristics of modern animals and dinosaurs.

Virtual Event Questions

Did we miss your question, or did one come up after your livestream viewing? Please email us at moroutreach@montana.edu and let us know which livestream you attended. Thank you so much for watching!