Diverse lectures, Haunted Mountain Theater & two NEW exhibits at MOR
Even with the sunny season in the rearview, there’s no slowing down at Museum of the Rockies with a busy fall event calendar. Here’s a look at some upcoming happenings at our neighborhood museum.
The Gallatin History Museum Lecture Series continues with “Galloping in the Gallatin” on Wednesday, October 2nd in Hager Auditorium at 6pm. Fourth-generation Montanan and equine aficionado Brenda Wahler will present. The event is open to the public.
For centuries, on prairie grasslands, dusty streets and racing ovals, everyday Montanans participated in the sport of kings. More than a century after horses arrived in the region, Lewis and Clark’s Nez Perce guides staged horse races at Traveler’s Rest in 1806. In response to hazardous street races, the Montana legislature granted communities authority to ban “immoderate riding or driving.” Helena led the way to respectable racing, with Madam Coady’s fashion course hosting the first territorial fair in 1868. Soon, leading citizens like Marcus Daly built oval tracks and glitzy grandstands. By 1890, a horse named Bob Wade set a world record for a quarter mile in Butte, a mark that stood until 1958. Horsewoman and historian Brenda Wahler will highlight the Big Sky’s patrons of the turf and courageous equine champions, including Kentucky Derby winner Spokane.
The next Science Inquiry Lecture, “Restoring Forests in a Time of Change,” is set for Wednesday, October 16th. The presentation will begin at 7pm in Hager Auditorium and is open to the public.
How can we measure the impact of climate change fire on forest ecosystems? Dr. C. Alina Cansler, research scientist in the School of Environmental Science at the University of Washington, will discuss how data from satellites and airborne lasers, coupled with on-the-ground measurements and simulation models, can help us understand the effects of fires, predict post-fire tree survival and tree regeneration, and design silviculture treatments that can make forests more resilient against climate change and future fires.
Also at MOR, two NEW exhibits – Amazing Butterflies and Light on the Land: The Photographs of Albert Schlechten – open for the fall months on October 19th. Both included with admission.
Amazing Butterflies invites you to shrink down into the undergrowth to become one of the most extraordinary creatures on earth. Embark on a challenging journey teeming with friends and foes revealing the unusual relationship between caterpillars, butterflies and their natural surroundings.
In the early 1900s, Bozeman photographer Albert Schlechten set out to create a series of landscape photographs that expressed his love of Southwest Montana and Yellowstone Park. Light on the Land is an exhibition presenting a dramatic and beautiful natural world through the lens of Albert’s camera.
Just in time for the spooky season, the Museum presents its pilot production of Haunted Mountain Theater with multiple stagings from October 25th–27th. Tickets are $13 for adults and $9 for children – and going fast! Recommended for ages 10 and up.
The Rockies are filled with ghastly historical events, unsettling tales, and supernatural creatures that are beyond our mortal comprehension. Come face to face with these spine-tingling stories that haunt this region and our nightmares.
Haunted Mountain Theater brings the Northern Rocky Mountains’ spookier history and folklore to life through an approximately 50-minute presentation that blends live theater with the museum’s Taylor Planetarium’s state-of-the-art capabilities. Based on authentic research, the production includes traditional legends, mining tragedies, natural disasters, unsolved murders, and more. They all prove one thing… sometimes life is scarier than fiction!
Looking ahead, MOR’s Brews & the Big Sky: Montana Made, Montana Brewed continues with Ancient Humans and Ice Age Mammal Extinction on Tuesday, October 29th from 5:30–7:30pm. The evening will feature suds from Lewis & Clark Brewing Co. and delicious bites by The Mint Café & Bar. There is a $15 admission including beer tasting, gallery talks, exhibits, and light appetizers for those 21 and older.
Thousands of years ago, Montana’s landscape was home to strange mammals. Giant sloths, wooly mammoths, dire wolves, camels, horses, cave bears and more all went extinct around 11,000 years ago in North America. When climate change and disease may have played a role, another mammal showed up right before this extinction event occurred: humans. Learn about the role of humans in the Ice Age Megafaunal Extinction.
For more information about these and other upcoming events, as well as the Museum’s exhibits, visit www.museumoftherockies.org. •
