Join us for the first course in the Centennial Series!!!

The first course of the Centennial Series is coming up next week! 100 Years of Bears in Many Glacier will be held June 4-6 and there's still time to sign up! Glacier National Park’s story would not be complete without a look at the bears of Glacier Park. Join us for day hikes with expert naturalist and author, Ralph Waldt, to learn about bear biology, habitat and foods, and spring emergence from the den. We hope to catch a glimpse of one of these impressive animals by making frequent stops along the trail and roads to glass mountain sides and avalanche chutes.Give us a call or check out the details online: http://glacierinstitute.org/glacier/courses/grizzlies_many_glacier.html
Photo Courtesy of Greg Thigpen

Cycling for Slides this Sunday!!!

There's still space available in this Sunday's Cycling for Slides course, so if you haven't signed up already, you still can! Here are the course details again:

Date: May 23, 2010 - Sunday
Start Time: 9:00 AM
End Time: 5:00 PM
Age: Ages 12 and up are welcome with an adult
*UPDATED MEETING LOCATION: Field Camp at 9 AM (rather than up at Avalanche CG)
Activity Level: Easy
Instructor(s): Paul Rappaport, M.S.
Course Fee: $65
Credits: 8 OPI
Student Limit: 13

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Work Weekend

A huge thank you to all the wonderful & hardworking volunteers who donated their time on Saturday at both Big Creek and Field Camp! It was a huge success and we couldn't have accomplished it without you all!

Glacier's Harlequins (recap)

Even the chilly, wet weather couldn’t dampen the spirits of the participants at this weekend’s Glacier’s Harlequins course! Under the guidance of instructor John Ashley, these 10 lucky participants had the opportunity to observe several Harlequin pairs while hiking along McDonald Creek. John shared both his knowledge and passion for Harlequins, emphasizing the importance of education in order to protect this at risk species. So if you're up in the Park, keep a look out for Harlequins!

Cycling for Slides

Avalanche slide paths along the Going-to-the-Sun Road provide key late-Spring ecological niches for early season foragers, grazers and opportunists: deer, elk and grizzly bear. Avalanche occurrence and dynamics are a function of terrain, weather, snowpack and a triggering mechanism. Come join us on this cycling excursion from Avalanche Creek to Logan Creek (8 miles round trip or perhaps the Loop: 15 miles round trip) to stop often to observe and discuss the dynamics of avalanche slide paths and their ecological role in the landscape.

Date(s): May 23, 2010 - Sunday
Start Time: 9:00 AM
End Time: 5:00 PM
Age: Ages 12 and up are welcome with an adult
Meeting Place: Avalanche Lake Trailhead Parking Area
Activity Level: Easy
Instructor(s): Paul Rappaport, M.S.
Course Fee: $65
Credits: 8 OPI
Student Limit: 13

Work Weekend

Want to help out, do some good work, get some lunch, and work on your tan all at the same time? Join us for Work Weekend May 15th!

We need volunteers at Big Creek Outdoor Education Center on the North Fork and Glacier Park Field Camp in West Glacier for some light maintenance, cleaning, raking, trail clean-up and more.

Please come prepared to work hard, play hard, get dirty, make friends, eat some good food and do some great volunteer work. Contact the main office if you would like to join us: 406-755-1211 or register@glacierinstitute.org.

We hope to see you there!

The Glacier Institute welcomes Tyler Nordgren

There is a new instructor at the Glacier Institute this year.

Tyler Nordgren is an astronomer and Associate Professor of Physics at the University of Redlands in California.

He earned his Ph.D in Astronomy from Cornell University where he used some of the largest telescopes in the world to study dark matter in galaxies. In 2004 he was part of a team of seven astronomers and artists who converted the camera calibration targets on NASA's Mars Rover into functioning sundials still in operation on the Red Planet today. For the last four years he has been a member of the National Park Service Night Sky Team working closely with astronomers and park rangers to protect our dark skies and promote astronomy education through their continued enjoyment.

In 2008 he was one of Glacier National Park's Artists-in-Residence because of his photography of the night sky above the nation's parks.

In celebration of Glacier National Park's one hundred year anniversary Tyler will be presenting Astronomy and Night Sky Awareness August 6th and 13th and Astrophotography of Glacier's Night Sky on August 7th and 14th.

Please join us for these exciting new courses and welcome Tyler this summer!