Trunks

Montana Watercourse Educational Trunks are an outstanding way to supplement your classroom units on water. Easy to use and packed with useful hands on materials these trunks will help you bring your presentations alive!

How to Order a Trunk
Montana Watercourse Educational Trunks are available to educators and citizens in Montana. Trunks are reserved on a first-come, first-serve basis by contacting the Montana Watercourse office. Trunks are loaned for a three week period (which includes shipping time) unless other arrangements are made. Montana Watercourse ships the trunks, and the user must pay the return postage or drop the trunk off by hand at the MSU-Bozeman office. Please call our offices to determine whether a $25 or $35 rental fee applies to the trunks you wish to order. The number is (406)994-6425 or email us.

Available Trunks

Ground Water Flow Model
Liquid History Treasure Trunk
Enviroscape Model
Literature Trunk
Pond Trunk
Stream Ecology
Trunks of the Northern Rockies
NOTE* Clark Fork Science and Social Studies Trunks are now avialable through Clark Fork Water Education Program in Butte. Contact CFWEP at: 406 496-4832, mvincent@mtech.edu

Cost: Scholarships for free rentals are available each year. Please inquire! All trunks are $25 per three week rental, $35 for more than three weeks, or $10 if you pick the trunk up from our Bozeman office. Trunks are free for WET facilitators.

Ground Water Flow Model Ground Water Trunk

The Ground Water Flow Model is a popular and easy-to-use teaching trunk that visually demonstrates important ground water concepts. The model is constructed of clear plexiglass allowing observers to watch water and contaminants as they move through underground rock and soil formations and interact with wells. The model can also be adapted to demonstrate how surface sources like rivers or wetlands can be connected to ground water. The model enables students to learn about recharge, porosity, permeability, water tables, confined and unconfined aquifers, contamination, and other important ground water concepts. This package includes a model, users guide and video, and everything needed to conduct a ground water education class or workshop.

Grade Level: K-12
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The Montana Liquid Treasure History Trunk

What was it like to live in Montana during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s? To live in a one-room sod house with no running water or indoor plumbing? To carry water in a buffalo bladder? To listen to President Roosevelt’s dedication speech at the Fort Peck Dam closure ceremony? To douse for ground water with a forked willow stick?
Many of these questions are not given more than a passing thought today. However, these events and circumstances helped shape Montana and its people. Using hands-on objects, unique historical artifacts, role playing skits and an outstanding collection of photographs, The Montana Liquid Treasure History Trunk will bring water history alive in your classroom.

Grade Level: K-12
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Enviroscape Model

The Enviroscape is a 3-dimentional model used for demonstrating a variety of water and watershed concepts. Each EnviroScape unit includes a molded clear base; two colorful molded landscape tops, one that emphasizes wetlands concepts and a second that emphasizes non-point source pollution concepts. A detailed Users Guide provides background information, set-up instructions, a location map, specific activities to demonstrate pollution sources and best management practices, a glossary, and suggested related activities. Accessories are included for enhancing the landscape and activities such as trees, cars, buildings and simulated pollutants. Grade Level: K-8

Enviroscape/Economics Model

This is the same Enviroscape Model, but with an Economics component incorporating social aspects such as property rights and cost/benefit analysis. Grade Level: 7-12

EnviroScape is one of the 25 demonstration projects selected by the National Forum on Non-point Source Pollution (convened by the Conservation Fund and the National Geographic Society).

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Literature Trunk

This trunk contains books, books, books! Inside are books about water, science, history and culture. View a list of the contents. Contact Montana Watercourse with the list of those books you wish to borrow. Entire contents weigh too much to ship. Our favorite highlights include:

A Drop around the World -Barbara Shaw McKinney
A River Ran Wild - Lynne Cherry
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky - Susan Jeffers
How the Earth Works - John Farndon
The Magic Schoolbus at the Waterworks - Joanna Cole
McElligot's Pool - Dr. Seuss
Paddle to the Sea - Holling Clancey Holling
Science Activities for Elementary Children - Leslie Nelson and George Lorbeer
The Snowman - Raymond Briggs
Where the River Begins - Thomas Locker

Grade Level: K-5
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Pond Trunk

Have you always wanted to explore a nearby pond or wetland? The Pond Trunk introduces pre-school to 3rd grade students to wetland and pond ecosystems. An activity guide is provided to give students an introduction to pond ecosystems and the plants and animals that inhabit them. Every Pond Trunk comes equipped with: Pond Trunk Activity guide, Pond Floor Puzzle, Slide viewers, Audio Cassettes, Videos, Brown Bat Mount, Muskrat Pelt, and over 30 books, including the Project WET Activity Guide, posters and notebooks.

Grade Level: K-3
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Stream Ecology Trunk I (Introductory)

The The Stream Ecology Trunk contains everything needed to conduct an introductory investigation of stream flow, plants and animals in local waterways. Dip nets, trays, invertebrate guides, stream flow measuring equipment (including rubber ducky), instructional videos and much more are included.
Grade Level: K-6

Stream Ecology Trunk II (Advanced)

In addition to everything in the Introductory Trunk this trunk includes a Hach test kit and Secchi Disk for testing of dissolved oxygen, pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), temperature, total phosphorus, nitrates, stream flow, and transparency.
Grade Level: 6-12

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Even More Trunks!

All the Education Trunks in the Northern Rockies:
The Museum of the Rockies and the Montana Space Grant Consortium, with assistance from Montana Environmental Education Association and the USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, have created a guide to help aid teachers in accessing educational materials throughout the Northern Region. This guide provides descriptions, contact information, and cost of educational trunks that can be used in classrooms. Guide to Educational Trunks in the Northern Rockies

View the guide as a PDF

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