2026/05/30

Over fifty kids from all over Western Montana braved the rain to take part in the second annual Missoula Schools Festival at Silver Park. Participants had six activities to complete to fill their punch card and win prizes:

1) Regular orienteering course
2) Map-themed arts and crafts, courtesy of Kathleen Dent: the kids got to design keychains and necklaces, and decorate a forest landscape with their creations
3) Map puzzles, ranging from jigsaws to difficult 'spot the difference' games
4) Animal orienteering
5) The maze, which is always a huge hit
6) Mobile-O: new for this year, this is a team game, where teams of two take turns navigating each other around a course using phones or walkie-talkies

We always like to shout out the schools with the most participants, and this year this was a tie between Hawthorne Elementary and Rattlesnake Elementary!

We had an amazing crew of volunteers who were not fazed by the rain, and who made this a great experience for kids and families. Thank you to Emily Johnson, Jeff Johnson, Kathleen Dent, Larry Dent, Loy Koch, Kat Franchino, Chris Caldwell, Jack Barkley, Ben Conley, Kaia Peterson, Nancy Shrader, Allison Brown, and anyone else who pitched in to help out! These events cannot happen without our fabulous volunteers.

Up next is an event on Saturday, June 6 on a BRAND-NEW MAP of Harrell Forest in Bigfork.
And later on, look out for our Evenings in Missoula summer series!