Glacier National Park has educational trunks that are available for local check-out. Traveling trunks are a great way to bring props and materials that are otherwise hard to find to your classroom. There are ideas for stand-alone activities as well as materials that can supplement your own classroom curriculum. Each trunk has a wealth of props and ideas and includes lesson plans that fit Montana Content and Performance Standards for science, math, language arts, music, art, health and wellness, and social studies. Trunks are a fantastic resource for students from pre-K to 12th grade.
Reserving a Trunk
All of Glacier's traveling trunks are free of charge and can be borrowed for 2-4 weeks at a time but must be picked-up and dropped-off in person at West Glacier, MT. To arrange to borrow a trunk please call 406-888-7899 or email us about the the trunk you are interested in and the dates you would like to borrow it.
Grades K-12
Background material, research guides, and props in the bear trunk facilitate discussions about bears, their habitats, and food sources. Emphasis is on black and grizzly bears, including how to tell them apart and how to play safely in bear country. Activity guides and sample lessons are included. Upper grades benefit from additional materials available on the web.
Grades K-12
The FireWorks trunk teaches students about the physical and chemical properties of fire as well as the role of wildfire in our western landscape. This trunk is packed with exciting experiments, a felt board, wall posters, an interactive CD highlighting native uses of fire, and much more!
Grade 4, but easily adapted to any level
The Land of Many Stories: The People & Histories of Glacier National Park trunk focuses on the human history of the area now known as Glacier National Park. The trunk contains authentic uniforms and souvenirs, photos, books, DVDs, and everything needed to teach a 2 week, curriculum-based unit.
Grades 3-5, but easily adapted to other levels
The Plant Invaders Trunk contains resources to help students learn about ecological and economic impacts of invasive weeds. Scientific plot surveys, investigations, and other activities teach students about noxious weeds in Montana.
Grades Middle School
The Repeat Photography trunk combines photography with precipitation measurement lessons to teach students about Earth's water and energy cycles and the importance of mountain ice. Images included in this exhibit represent a sampling of the US Geological Survey’s (USGS) Repeat Photography Project in Glacier, which conveys how much the glaciers have melted, indicating a warming climate.
Grades 3-12
The skulls kit provides students with opportunity to discover the wide variety of characteristics we can learn about an animal from its skull. Contained within this kit are activities utilizing 10 skulls to focus on predators, prey, omnivores, herbivores, and carnivores.
Grades K-5
This dynamic songbird kit is geared for the classroom as well as outdoors. Resource materials, activities, videos, a felt storyboard, posters, recorded bird songs, and puppets all help students learn more about the natural history of several songbirds.
Grades K-10
The traditional games trunk combines fun and engaging games with the rich cultural background of the tribes that first developed them. The trunk contains the necessary equipment to play the different games, including at least one game from each of the tribes in Montana, as well as detailed instructions on how each game is played, background information, lesson plans, and the cultural significance of each game.
Grades K-2, 3-5
The predator and prey trunk is a great way to introduce the concepts of predator and prey relationships, food chains, and learn about a wolf as a predator. This trunk includes the pelts, skulls, and track samples of wolves and their prey. There are also DVDs, books, puppets, and resource guides for educators. The K-2 and 3-5 Educator's Guide are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and Montana State Education Standards.
