Carter County Geological Society

TO INCREASE & DIFFUSE KNOWLEDGE & APPRECIATION OF HISTORY, ART & SCIENCE; TO DISCOVER, EXCAVATE & PRESERVE FOSSILS, FOSSIL BONES, & HUMAN ARTIFACTS; TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE OF ARCHAEOLOGY & PALEONTOLOGY; TO COLLECT AND PRESERVE ARTIFACTS OF HISTORIC, ARTISTIC & SCIENTIFIC INTEREST AND TO MAINTAIN A LIBRARY.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING IS A CENTRAL TENANT OF OUR MISSION. IN 2021 WE HELD A NUMBER OF EDUCATIONAL EVENTS, INCLUDING THE ANNUAL DINO SHINDIG (480), THE JUNIOR SCIENTIST PROGRAM (21), VIRTUAL STAR PARTIES (529), AND PROGRAMMING THROUGH THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR STEM EDUCATION EARTH & SPACE TOOLKIT (20).THE MUSEUM CONTINUED PROGRAMMING ON VIRTUAL PLATFORMS, INCLUDING FACEBOOK, ZOOM AND YOUTUBE. THESE INCLUDED LECTURES, EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS AND ACTIVITIES (BUG PINNING VIDEO SERIES, COLLECTION SPOTLIGHTS), AND PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY WEEK, AMONG OTHERS. IN 2020, CARTER COUNTY MUSEUM (EKALAKA, MONT.) DESIGNED AND PRODUCED THE EXHIBITION "SHOTS FELT 'ROUND THE WORLD: MAURICE HILLEMAN AND THE MONTANA ORIGINS OF THE FIGHT AGAINST PANDEMICS" USING COLLECTIONS DONATED TO THE MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES BY THE HILLEMAN FAMILY, ALONG WITH MONTANA NEWSPAPER STORIES THAT DESCRIBE CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE THROUGHOUT MONTANA HISTORY. THIS EXHIBIT WENT ON DISPLAY IN 2021 IN BOTH VIRTUAL (16200) AND PHYSICAL FORMATS (3543) AND WAS INCLUDED IN THE SMITHSONIAN'S VACCINES & US INITIATIVE. ALONG WITH THE TEACHER ADVISORY COUNCIL, WE CREATED A K-12 COMPANION CURRICULUM "HILLEMAN & VACCINES: CONNECTING CULTURE TO SCIENTIFIC CURIOSITY." THE LESSONS WERE DESIGNED BY A GROUP OF TEACHERS FROM THE ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL, WHO PILOTED THE CURRICULUM IN THEIR CLASSROOMS IN EKALAKA, MONTANA, DURING MAY 2021. THE CONTENT BACKGROUND WAS PROVIDED BY CARTER COUNTY MUSEUM IN CONSULTATION WITH MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND MUSEUM OF THE ROCKIES. THIS PROJECT WAS FUNDED BY A MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT SEED GRANT ($3350 AWARDED IN 2020, SPENT IN 2021 PER GRANT APPLICATION). VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING ENGAGED A TOTAL OF 22927 PEOPLE. ON SITE PROGRAMMING CONDUCTED WITH HEALTH PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE SERVED AN ADDITIONAL 11010 PEOPLE, AND HYBRID EVENTS SERVED 857. THE 9TH ANNUAL DINO SHINDIG CONTINUED AS A HYBRID PROGRAM, INCLUDING VIRTUAL TALKS HOSTED ON FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE (93 ATTENDEES, 319 YOUTUBE VIEWS). IN-PERSON ATTENDEES TO THE SHINDIG TOTALED 340 OVER A THREE DAY PERIOD FOR A GRAND TOTAL OF 480. APPROXIMATELY 34794 PEOPLE WERE REACHED THROUGH PROGRAMS ON-SITE AND VIRTUAL OUTREACH. SINCE 2013, THE SHINDIG HAS SERVED 12268 PEOPLE. THE SHINDIG EARNED $9301.20 IN PROGRAM REVENUE, WITH EXPENSES OF $2533.09. THESE FUNDS WILL BE SPENT IN 2022 PER THE GRANT APPLICATION. OTHER PROGRAM EXPENSES INCLUDED THE JR. SCIENTIST PROGRAM ($712.59) AND MEMBERSHIP LECTURES ($223.13).

MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT - MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT - EXHIBITIONS AT THE CARTER COUNTY MUSEUM FOLLOW THE NARRATIVE OF THE LANDSCAPE THROUGH THE DEEP PAST AND ITS EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A DIVERSE GROUP OF INDIGENOUS AND RANCHING CULTURES. OUR COLLECTIONS WERE AMASSED OVER AN 80+ YEAR PERIOD AND REPRESENT 90 MILLION YEARS OF HISTORY AND PREHISTORY OF SOUTHEASTERN MONTANA AND CARTER COUNTY. CONTRIBUTIONS TO THIS PROGRAM SERVICE INCLUDE THE SCOPE VOLUNTEER PROGRAM ($1820), DISPLAY FUND ($1000), AND FEEK'S VISION FUND ($2434.50). THE CCM WAS SELECTED AS A MEASUREMENT OF MUSEUM SOCIAL IMPACT (MOMSI) PARTICIPANT IN 2021 AND RECEIVED A STIPEND OF $742. THIS PROGRAM SERVICE INCURS COSTS RELATED TO DISPLAY MATERIALS, ARCHIVAL AND CONSERVATION SUPPLIES AND A VOLUNTEER PROGRAM. MUCH OF THE FUNDING COMES FROM DONOR RESTRICTED FUNDS AND GRANTS ALLOCATED FOR THIS PURPOSE. THE MONTANA HISTORY FOUNDATION AWARDED THE CCM A GRANT OF 6740, 4725 OF WHICH WAS ISSUED IN 2021 AND USED TO PURCHASE FENCING MATERIALS FOR THE CARTER COUNTY HERITAGE ORCHARD. DONOR ADVISED FUNDS FOR THE ORCHARD PROJECT ACCOUNTED FOR $278.63 IN FURTHER COSTS. IN 2021, A SHARPS GRANT FROM HUMANITIES MONTANA ($10000) WAS AWARDED TO HELP SUPPORT ADMINISTRATIVE, MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN 2022. BY THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, $4762.12 IN EXPENSES WERE EXPENDED OF THIS GRANT AND AN ADDITIONAL $5000 PAID TOWARD PROJECT STIPENDS RELATED TO MUSEUM-BASED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING AND COLLECTIONS STEWARDSHIP. THE REMAINING $237.88 WILL BE SPENT IN 2022 PER THE GRANT GUIDELINES. DONOR RESTRICTED FUNDS WENT TOWARD THE FEEK'S VISION DOCUMENTARY PROJECT ($1723.25) AND DISPLAY COSTS ($515.01). LAB EQUIPMENT TOTALED $1,052.11, FIELD EXPEDITIONS $554.95, ARCHIVAL $266.64, SHIFTING SCENES HISTORY PROJECT $318.36. AN ADDITIONAL $4601.15 WAS SPENT TOWARD THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE EKALAKTIC DOME, $4638.52 FOR MUSEUM'S CAMERA SECURITY SYSTEM, $209.98 FOR THE 3D PRINTER PROJECT, $461.76 IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR MUSEUM STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS, $225 FOR CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE, $408 FOR INFORMATION TECH, AND $3234 IN OFFICE EXPENSES.

OUTREACH PROGRAM SERVICES IN 2021 CONTINUED TO ADAPT ACCORDING TO THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND THE MUSEUM SHIFTED TO INCLUDE VIRTUAL, HYBRID AND IN PERSON SERVICES. VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION BY THE MUSEUM DIRECTOR INCLUDED INVOLVEMENT IN THE MUSEUM ASSOCIATION OF MONTANA, VISIT SOUTHEAST MONTANA, THE MONTANA GOVERNORS TOURISM ADVISORY COUNCIL, THE MT CHAPTER OF THE INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR INTERPRETATION, AS WELL AS ATTENDANCE AT THE ANNUAL MONTANA DINOSAUR TRAIL MEETING. THE MONTANA LEARNING CENTER PARTNERED WITH THE MUSEUM FOR THE SECOND YEAR OF THE CLADES & SPADES FOSSIL CAMP PROGRAM, WHICH BROUGHT IN 1600 IN REVENUE AND SERVED 8 PEOPLE OVER A ONE WEEK PERIOD IN AUGUST. THE REMAINING 1382.14 OF THE REIMAGINING RURAL GRANT (RECEIVED IN 2020) WAS SPENT FOR THE EKALAKA HISTORY TRAIL PROJECT, AS WAS AN ADDITIONAL $652.69 IN PROGRAM EXPENSES. ADVERTISING AND PROMOTIONAL EXPENSES ACCOUNTED FOR AN ADDITIONAL $1380. AS A DIRECT RESULT OF OUR PROGRAM SERVICES (EDUCATIONAL, OUTREACH AND MUSEUM DEVELOPMENT), 34,794 PEOPLE WERE SERVED IN 2021. IN 2021, WE RECEIVED A HUMANITIES MONTANA SHARPS PROJECT GRANT OF $9,620 TO CREATE A SECOND COPY OF THE "SHOTS" EXHIBITION AND BRING IT TO 10 MONTANA COMMUNITIES IN 2022. THESE FUNDS WILL BE SPENT IN 2022 PER THE GRANT APPLICATION.

ENDOWMENT FUND PAYMENT OF INCOME IN 2020, THE CARTER COUNTY GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY ELECTED TO OPEN A QUALIFIED ENDOWMENT FUND WITH THE MONTANA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION. EACH CALENDAR YEAR, A PERCENTAGE OF GAINS IN THE FUND ARE PAID OUT TO THE MUSEUM. THIS YEAR IT WAS $8353.12. THAT EXPENSE WILL BE REFLECTED AS INCOME IN 2022.