Field Trip to the National Bighorn Sheep CenterOur trained staff and volunteers welcome school groups of any age and any size. We are happy to provide guided tours of the exhibits, as well as activities, discussions or films customized for a group’s age or specific interests. Call (307-455-3429) or email in advance to schedule an engaging and memorable visit for your students. Admission for school groups is $2/student. If this cost is prohibitive, please contact us about potential sponsorships.
Information for teachers and students when planning a visit can be found here: Tips for school visits to Dubois Museum and NBSC
Our experienced staff and volunteers offer guided tours to the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area, which is the winter range of the Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep herd. This tour is a great addition to a Sheep Center visit. Students can learn about bighorn 
sheep habitat and biology in the field. This tour can be customized to explore specific content and topics.
Can’t bring your class to the National Bighorn Sheep Center for a tour? We’ve got you covered! No, we can’t send you a live bighorn, but our Traveling Education Trunk will help provide you and your class a hands-on, up-close look at the life and lifestyles of bighorn sheep. We can ship a trunk anywhere in the contiguous United States (you just cover the shipping costs).
Contents can be found here: Education Trunk contents and lesson. The contents of the trunk can be modified based on your educational needs.
If you are interested in having one of our staff members or volunteers bring an education trunk to your classroom and present the lesson for you, call (307-455-3429) or email to discuss.
If you are interested in learning about the Wyoming science curriculum standards that can be met using our lessons, activities or materials, click WY science curriculum standards at NBSC.
Stay connected – Join our Facebook group and sign up for emails to stay up to date on the latest NBSC happenings.
Bighorn Sheep Adaptations – Videos from NBSC:
Other Videos from NBSC:
Want to know the differences between wild sheep and goats? Watch this silly video to learn! Sheep and Goats from Parks Canada
Videos About Pneumonia in Bighorn Sheep
Lessons and Curriculum
In early 2020, working with our partners with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (Lander Regional office), we prioritized the development of a new citizen-science led effort to help identify and record locations of invasive plant species in the larger Dubois area. Lots of Dubois-area residents and visitors have expressed desire to help our local bighorns and other wildlife in a tangible form, and we all agreed that prioritizing this citizen-science opportunity was a great fit!
Using the fun and user-friend app called “iNaturalist” we developed the Dubois Invasive Species Watch is a Citizen Science Project to help land managers identify the extent of invasive species in the area surrounding Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area and the larger Dubois area. Bighorn sheep are a community-wide iconic wildlife species that depends heavily on intact winter range and migration corridors. Rapidly responding to invasive species infestations will help maintain habitat for this and other wildlife species in the area.
Everyone can help! All you have to do is upload the iNaturalist app onto your devise, join the project (Dubois Invasive Species Watch), and while you’re out and about hiking, riding or exploring the beautiful landscapes around Dubois within the project area, keep your eyes out for some of the more common (and wildlife-challenging!) invasive species and make observations with your phone. The specific locations, photos and descriptions of the plants you see will be uploaded to the project site and used in real-time by habitat biologists.
We hosted a free zoom training for volunteers on May 28, 2020, and a link to this recorded video session can be viewed by clicking this link. You can also see the powerpoint itself (without video) by clicking this link: DuboisInvasiveSpeciesWatchTraining. Additionally, please check out this flier below for how YOU can help in this ongoing project to help our local wildlife:
Come explore the world of the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. The central display, “Sheep Mountain”, is a 16-feet tall diorama that recreates the summer and winter habitats of the Bighorns. This exhibit includes plants and other wildlife that share bighorn sheep habitat. Our dioramas include full-body taxidermy mounts of grizzly bears, marmot, wolves, golden eagle, mule deer, chipmunk, pika, coyote, mountain goat, bushy-tailed woodrat, mountain lion 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 a variety of local people telling their own bighorn sheep story. Center exhibits also examine predator/prey relationships, the survival strategy of migration, and 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 small 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. The Sheepeater displays are unique to the Bighorn Sheep Center. Come and learn!