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Hands on History Footlockers

 

The Society's Footlocker program offers thematic "traveling trunks" focused on a wide variety of topics, ranging from the fur-trading and mining industries, to Indian life during the reservation period and today. Homesteading, immigration, and Montana's Cowboy Artist Charlie Russell are among other topics featured in these dynamic, hands-on trunks.

Each footlocker is filled with reproductions of clothing, tools, everyday objects, maps, photographs, and documents. User Guides - that include historical narratives, lesson plans, "amazing Montanan" biographies, bibliographies, and information on compliance with Montana Standards for Social Studies and the Essential Understandings regarding Montana Indians - accompany each footlocker.
 
Availability and Cost: Footlockers are available to Montana educators for two weeks at a time (see booking slots for current school year). No rental fee is charged for the use of footlockers. However, schools are responsible for the cost of shipping the footlocker to the next venue via United Parcel Service (UPS). Footlockers must also be insured for $500.00 each (shipping and insurance varies by weight and location). If a school fails to insure the footlocker and it is lost in transit, the school will be responsible for replacement costs. Out of consideration for your fellow teachers, please note that footlockers shipped on Friday do NOT always arrive the following Monday, so plan accordingly.

 
View a list of available Montana Historical Society-created footlockers and view their User Guides.
Mine these User Guides for lesson plans that you can incorporate into your classroom - even if you can't order the footlocker, or access them to prepare for the footlocker's arrival.

MHS is pleased to make available these resources provided by other institutions: History Mystery Kits
 
Reserve a Footlocker or a History Mystery Kit.

 
Education & Outreach
Explore the MHS digital footlocker,
The Home Fires: Montana in World War II.
This digital version of the Home Fires footlocker was created with funding from a Thinking through American History grant, administered through the Golden Triangle Curriculum Cooperative.