Invisible Boundaries: Yellowstone’s Animal Migration Exhibit

The Depot Museum is now open for the summer season. Visitors are welcome Monday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The vaulted ceilings and spacious atrium provide room for social distancing while enjoying the exhibits. Masks are required.

The Depot’s featured exhibit for the 2020 summer season is a groundbreaking multimedia presentation curated by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming. “Invisible Boundaries: Exploring Yellowstone’s Great Animal Migrations,” uses art, science, cartography and multimedia to delve into the challenges and triumphs of herds as they cross geographic, cultural, ecological, and political boundaries.

 The stunning multi-media experience combines the research of wildlife biologist Arthur Middleton, PhD, on the migration of thousands of elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the captivating photography of Joe Riis, the striking paintings and drawings of James Prosek, and the gripping film produced by Jenny Nichols.

Wildlife biologist Arthur Middleton, PhD, compiled over a decade of tracking collar data to produce the basis for an interactive map featured in the exhibit—visitors can adjust the map to reflect different seasons, herds, geographical features, and political boundaries. The multi-disciplinary team has created an ecosystem-wide overview of the dynamic movements of herd animals including elk, pronghorn, mule deer and more.

Livingston is the final stop on a limited tour of the exhibit including the Yale Peabody Museum and the Natural History Museum of Utah, offering the experience to brand new audiences.

An exciting new addition to the Depot’s popular ongoing main exhibit “Rails Across the Rockies: A Century of People and Places” will also be on display. A detailed O-Scale model of the entire Depot complex was recently donated by Duane Danielson and refurbished for display by the Livingston Model Railroaders. The accuracy of the complex is unparalleled. Danielson tracked down copies of the Depot’s original blueprints from the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association. He then teamed up with a CAD (computer aided design) specialist to digitally render the drawings and laser cut the walls, windows, and columns. Danielson spent months assembling the pieces and adding detailing like bricks, monads, a bustling ticket booth, and even a secretary pool huddled over their typewriters on the third floor.

In addition to its main exhibit, the museum also presents “The Livingston Depot in History and Architecture,” and “Film in Montana: Moviemaking under the Big Sky,” as well as an annual featured special exhibit.

More information is available through the Depot office at (406) 222-2300 or its website, www.livingstondepot.org.