School Outreach

_Thinking of the future is a big part of our job. MR TMA is reaching out to students in Missoula and Ravalli Counties to provide education about transportation options, environmental concerns and alternatives to driving alone. Our presentations are interactive, fun and FREE! Check out our program descriptions below and fill out a presentation request.


School Outreach Program Descriptions

_FAST FOOD (Kindergarten to 1st Grades, 30 minutes)  This fun presentation starts with an engaging read aloud book that kids love.  It is followed with a matching game to highlight different types of transportation that are used in the air, on land and on water.

TWENTY GOATS GRUFF (Kindergarten to 2nd Grades, 35 minutes) This is a play performed by the students, with the Coordinator as storyteller, about the problems caused by having too many cars on the road.  The troll under the bridge will not let the goats cross to eat their lunch in the meadow because he hates the noise and pollution from their cars.  The goats have a village meeting to discuss and solve this problem. They come up with 4 solutions: carpool, walk, bike, and ride the bus.  The problem is solved and the goats and troll live happily ever after.

TRAFFIC JAM (2nd to 3rd Grades, 45 minutes)  In this hands-on activity, students will learn about traffic and its impact on the environment.  Your class will learn that most cars only have one person in them – the driver!  The kids will see first hand how much traffic is created by these single occupant vehicles (SOVs).  They will use their developing math skills to discover that using alternative transportation not only has less of a negative impact on air quality, but that it helps move traffic along, too! 

GETTING THERE (3rd to 6th Grades, 1 hour and 15 minutes) After a presentation giving students facts about transportation issues, options and management, they divide into small groups and play the board game “Getting There”.  At the end of the game, the class discusses the results of the game and the message behind the results:  SOVs cost more than using alternative transportation.

INVERSIONS (3rd to 6th Grades, 45 minutes) After a presentation about transportation issues and options, especially the issue of air quality in the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys, a science demonstration is presented by the Coordinator using dry ice and boiling water to recreate a winter thermal inversion. Students become the wind and the sun’s heat to disperse the inversion. 

GRIDLOCK (4th to 8th Grades, 45 minutes) Following a brief presentation about transportation concerns in the valley, students will participate in a hands-on activity designed to show the benefits of using alternative transportation.  Students will compare the number of vehicles on the road with the number of people being moved.  Next, they will try differing alternatives to decrease the number of vehicles on the road, while increasing the number of commuters.  They will record their findings on data tables.   

THE WAY IT WAS AND IS; THE HISTORY OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNITY IN THE VALLEYS (4th  to 8th  Grades Social Studies, 1 hour and 30 minutes or two 45 minute sessions)  In this presentation, concepts about transportation and community and how they relate are discussed.  Students will then work in groups to create their own communities based on what they have learned.

CITY COUNCIL (5th to 12th grades, 45 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes) Students will run a mock city council meeting which will require them to present real life solutions to the pollution problems facing our area.  Members of the class will vote on which solution would be most beneficial to citizens.  This highly participatory lesson encourages students to consider the pollution issue from many angles and participate in class discussion.