We inspire, educate, and conserve through our exhibits, programs, and outreach with a commitment to wild sheep maintained since 1993.
The National Bighorn Sheep Center is proud of our growing education program. We welcome teachers, youth or adult program leaders, and other organizations to schedule a field trip to visit the Center or arrange a tour with our Traveling Education Trunks.
Our staff and volunteers welcome school groups of any age and size. We are happy to provide guided tours of exhibits and include educational activities, discussions, and documentary films. Tours are customized based on age group and specific fields of study. School groups are responsible for their own transportation to/from site.
Admission for school groups is $2/student and $5/adult.
Call (307-455-3429) or email in advance to schedule an engaging and memorable visit for your students.
The Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area is the winter habitat of our Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep herd.
Guided wilderness tours enhance your Sheep Center visit. Students will learn about bighorn sheep biology and habitats, especially the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area. Customized tours allow students to explore more specific content and topics according to interest, including the following:
Tours are $75 for groups of 30 or less. Larger groups need to coordinate with our Education Director for availability.
School groups are responsible for their own transportation to/from site.
School groups outside the Dubois area can still have an engaging and memorable learning experience with our wildlife and wildlands.
Virtual Tours and Traveling Education Trunks provide a hands-on, up-close look at the life and lifestyles of bighorn sheep. Trunks can be shipped anywhere in the contiguous United States. Shipping costs are covered by generous donors.
Virtual tours are scheduled according to the trunk’s arrival date. Our Traveling Education Trunks include educational videos along with a private, guided museum tour via Zoom.
Virtual tours are $2/student and $5/adult.
Classroom presentations are available upon request. If you are interested in having one of our staff members present a lesson in your school, call (307-455-3429) or email to discuss topics and scheduling.
Explore the world of the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep! Our central display, “Sheep Mountain,” is a 16-feet-tall diorama that recreates summer and winter habitats of bighorn sheep. This exhibit includes plants and other wildlife that share bighorn sheep habitats. Our dioramas include full-body taxidermy mounts of grizzly bears, marmots, wolves, golden eagles, mule deer, chipmunks, pikas, coyotes, mountain goats, bushy-tailed woodrats, mountain lions, and more!
Other Center exhibits include hands-on interactive displays that will engage, educate, and entertain visitors of all ages! Feel the weight of a mature bighorn ram’s horn; identify wildlife tracks, scat, and fur samples; and listen to Dubois locals telling their own bighorn sheep stories. Center exhibits also examine predator/prey relationships, explain the survival strategy of migration, and help visitors see the mountain environment through the eyes of a bighorn sheep. We occasionally have temporary special exhibits in the Ronald W. Ball Memorial Gallery as well as in the main exhibit hall.
In memory of Ronald W. Ball, this gallery honors Ron, who helped create the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation through his dedication to bighorn sheep conservation in Wyoming. The gallery hosts a theater space where educational films, temporary special exhibits (including artwork and photography), and educational programs are regularly hosted.
The Bighorn Sheep Center also features information about the Sheepeater (also called the Mountain Shoshone) Native Americans. This culture inhabited the Dubois area for thousands of years and had a strong connection with wild sheep. Examine a re-creation of an ancient Sheepeater Indian sheep trap, and make your own drawing of a petroglyph based on an original design that was created hundreds of years ago. See handmade winter boots made from bighorn sheep fur. Ponder the skillful creation of a sheep horn bow, a highly prized possession among the early inhabitants of this area. Part of the Sheepeater display includes a collection of replica stone and bone tools, hand-tanned bighorn sheep hide, and many other items all made with material from bighorn sheep. Our Sheepeater displays are unique to the Bighorn Sheep Center. Come and learn!
If you are interested in learning about the Wyoming science curriculum standards that can be met using our lessons, activities, or materials, please click WY science curriculum standards at NBSC.
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