Educational Tools & Opportunities

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One of the purposes of the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center (NHTIC) is to educate the public about the significance of four national historic trails which pass through Wyoming. These trails are the Oregon, Mormon, California and Pony Express. This purpose is accomplished through educational tours of the facility, educational resource materials, and in-class presentations.

The NHTIC offers classroom tours of the facility. Reservations are required and group discounts apply. Up to 60 students at one time can visit as part of a class tour, and 1 chaperone for every 10 students is required.

Educational groups may wish to consider coupling a visit to the NHTIC with a visit to Fort Caspar. For further information on Fort Caspar, please call 307-235-8462 or visit their website at www.fortcaspar.com.

Other Casper museums and facilities are available for school visits, including the Nicolaysen Art Museum, the Tate Geological Museum, the Audubon Center at Garden Creek, and the Casper Planetarium; any of these would make a visit to Casper and the NHTIC an enjoyable highlight! For more information on these fine facilities, contact the Casper Area Convention & Visitors Bureau at 307-234-5362 or see their website at www.casperwyoming.info.

NHTIC educational resource samplers are also available to teachers for classroom use. These packets are divided into the following grade-levels:

Several other trail organizations offer educational materials as well. Please visit the Links page to review websites of the trail-related entities listed.

Trails Center staff are available for classroom visitsand other group presentations within the commuting area of Casper. Talks are offered for all grade levels and community organizations. Topics include emigrant trails and trail life, natural history of the trails, and information on the Bureau of Land Management.

For more information on any of these educational offerings, please contact the Trails Center at 307-261-7700 or email trailscenter_wy@blm.gov.

A variety of educational offerings are available to you through the Internet. The NHTIC is part of the national Hands on the Land (HOL) (www.handsontheland.org) program. HOL is a network of field classrooms throughout America; the Bessemer Bend Historic Site, located along the historic trails near Casper, serves this area’s HOL outdoor classroom. The HOL website offers many science education-related tools, materials you might find useful for your class.

Another on-line site which provides helpful educational resources is the Bureau of Land Management’s Environmental Education website (www.blm.gov/education). A variety of materials and web resources are available for both teachers and students.

The BLM and other federal entities participate in Electronic Field Trips (www.efieldtrips.org), a website which provides not only educational materials, but the opportunity to ask questions of natural resource and other experts. Here one can learn about a variety of topics from wildlife and wildfire to ecosystems and energy.

Many of the above-listed websites offer links to other education-related sites.

Commercial Group Tours
Other types of groups are also welcome at the NHTIC for a discounted rate. Commercial groups (such as bus tours, family and school reunions, and business conventions) which are interested in visiting the facility should contact the NHTIC at 307-261-7700 or trailscenter_wy@blm.gov. Reservations for groups are highly encouraged and preferred.