By Hayley Young
The Children’s Museum of Northeast Montana is nestled away in downtown Glasgow. The museum recently celebrated twenty years of creating an enriching, educational and enjoyable experience for children across Northeastern Montana.
While the museum may now be a large two-story building that boosts numerous exhibits, it had much humbler beginnings. It started with a group of moms looking for alternate places to hold their weekly play groups.
The group found themselves saying it would be nice if they had a children’s museum. Stacey Fast, long-time director, shared that while it was something the group regularly talked about, she kept pushing the group to get it started.
In 2005 the Children’s Museum opened their doors in a small 500-square foot apartment with seven small exhibit/station areas; the classroom was in a closet. The little apartment didn’t offer any extra room or area to expand. Fast shared, “it only took a couple of years before we realized that we would need a bigger space.”
By 2010 they were able to find a larger building in downtown Glasgow. Fast’s dreams for the new building were large; that dream included a tree house. With some ingenuity, imagination and hard work, a life-sized tree house greets each visitor as they walk through the doors.
Over the two decade span, many different exhibits have been enjoyed by children. But, “Main Street” has remained a staple since the beginning. It offers a grocery store, pizzeria, post office, library, and veterinarian office, all of which are sponsored by area businesses.
Currently the museum has ten exhibits and multiple other stations throughout the building. Along with “Main Steet” and the tree house, other exhibits include a new pollinator exhibit that was dedicated to Stacey Fast, sensory exhibit, Robert’s Room (in honor of Robert Leonardi) features a rock wall, net tunnel, rope climbing, and a medical exhibit with an ambulance. Stations that are placed throughout the building include a Lego play area, live-sized light-bright, a music area, as well as Sophia the tortoise.
The upstairs which was recently revamped and opened to the public features a dino-dig area, Lewis and Clark area, farm-to- table play area, astronaut area and earthquake table.
There is also a classroom that is used for camps during the summer months and offers the community a great place to host birthday parties.
The most unique exhibit the museum features is the Skip Erickson World Wildlife Experience. This exhibit is unlike anything visitors will find elsewhere. 110 different species from across the globe all hunted by Erickson call the museum home. The Wildlife exhibit is not only a treat for animal enthusiasts, but includes information about each species and their habitat.
If she had to describe the museum in just a few words, Fast would say it is “unique, remarkable, fun and appreciated.” It was a project that was ahead of its time and remains the only children’s museum in a rural community in Montana.
The Children’s Museum of Northeast Montana is located at 514 2nd Avenue South in Glasgow. For more information: phone 406-228-4386, email nemtchildrensmuseum@gmail.com. They can also be found on Facebook. Summer hours are 10 am – 3 pm Monday through Saturday.