91´ÎÔª

BSE Site Activities

• Breakfast Cooking Basics

  Presented by the Missoula College Culinary Arts Program

  Did you know the Missoula College has a state of the art kitchen and a variety of culinary programs you can choose to study? Join Chef Bert as he teaches basic egg cookery and breakfast preparations...and who knows, there may be a surprise or two!

  Accessibility: This Site Activity will contain working in a kitchen, so mobility to those in a wheel or motorized chair might be difficult.

• Community Agriculture and Food Systems

  Presented by the UM PEAS Farm and Garden City Harvest

  The PEAS Farm is the 91´ÎÔª's student farm, in operation for over 25 years through a partnership between the Environmental Studies program and local nonprofit organization, Garden City Harvest. The PEAS Farm's 10-acres features 4.5 acres of annual vegetable production, an orchard, seed garden, four sisters garden, as well as hoophouses, a barn, and a greenhouse. Students grow 50,000 pounds of food annually for the Missoula community through semester-based practicum courses.

  On Day One of the BSE, you'll take a tour of the PEAS Farm and harvest onions that the farm grows for the Missoula Food Bank.

  On Day Two of the BSE, you'll get to know the PEAS Farm's nonprofit partner, Garden City Harvest, by working at one of its two other community farms: River Road Farm and Orchard Gardens.

  

  Accessibility: This Site Activity takes place in a large field that is not accessible to wheel or motor chairs. Participants will be outside for the duration, and will be expected to stand, kneel, and stoop, though modifications can be made.

• Escaping the Public Library

  Presented by the Missoula Public Library

  Join the Missoula Public Library (the #1 library in the world in 2022!) as you learn how the public library connects all of Missoula, fosters community through all of its resources, and lean about information literacy during Day 1! Day 2 is in the MakerSpace, where you'll spend time learning about what that is, how you can use its many resources throughout your time in Missoula, and work through a MakerSpace-made escape box.
  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• Esports in Real Life

  Presented by Griz ESports

  In this experience, students will learn and engage in esports in a novel way. Students will learn how UM Esports differs from other esports programs in
  the country while truly interacting in an immersive activity by creating Rocket League cars and then competing in a small and entertaining outdoor
  tournament with their peers.

  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• Grizzlies in the Backcountry: A Public Land & Water Experience

  Presented by Backcountry Hunters and Anglers - UM Club

  Love the outdoors? Come experience Missoula's local public lands and waters with Backcountry Hunters & Anglers! Day one will be a hike up Crazy Canyon (the backside of the "M") with killer views of Missoula at the top. Day two will be more laid back, learning how to fly fish on the Clark Fork River at Milltown State Park. Along the way, learn the importance of protecting these places and the wildlife that call it home.

  Accessibility: This Site Activity includes hiking on trails that are not wheel or motor chair accessible. Participants should be in decent physical shape and comfortable with and prepared for changing weather. Hike is six miles round trip with 1,200 ft elevation gain.

• Grizzly Marching Band *Override Required*

  Presented by Grizzly Marching Band
  

  All students who are joining the Grizzly Marching Band should select this site for their Big Sky Experience. New Student Orientation collaborates with your Band Director to ensure you are released from practice for important sessions, and you will be guided to and from required activities by your UM Advocate mentor.

• Growing a Community Bicycle Shop

  Presented by Free Cycles

  Free Cycles Missoula is one of the longest running (30 years) and largest (a whole city block) community bicycle shops in the world. And we need your help to keep it rolling! We'll learn about bicycles, community projects, sustainable transportation, non profit work, permaculture and more. The help needed will be a variety of projects- organizing the Bicycle Forest and Pedal Power Warehouse, sprucing up the yard and all the wheels and kid bikes, and so much more. Come join us!

  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• Indigenous First Year Experience *Override Required*

  Presented by the Indigenous First Year Experience Program

  All incoming students who have applied and been admitted to the IFYE program will be automatically registered for this activity.

  In its third year, we are excited to welcome the new cohort of Indigenous First-Year Experience students! While IFYE students will participate in the Big Sky Experience with their fellow peers, we will also have special programming that focuses on creating community among one another. During the site activity time, the IFYE program will bring our 20 incoming first-year students together for Native-based wellness activities such as tipi building and making stress buster kits for the upcoming semester.

• Inside Professional Sports with the Missoula PaddleHeads

  Presented by the Missoula PaddleHeads

  Students will receive a behind the scenes look into how a professional sport team is operated. Each department within the Missoula PaddleHeads organization will be discussed and examined to explore the role that department plays in putting together a professional sport season. The primary focus for this experience will be on how to get fans to attend games specifically through promotions, marketing, and community engagement. This is a very cool opportunity to learn about what works well and poorly when operating a professional sports team, especially within a small community like Missoula. Students who attend will receive two free GA game tickets to the 91´ÎÔª Night PaddleHeads game on Wednesday, August 27, 2025.

  Accessibility: This Site Activity will be outdoors. Covered seating will be available.

• Journey to a Meaningful Future: Community, Career, and You

  Presented by the Office of Experiential Learning and Career Success

  Are you ready to take the first step on your career journey? Join Experiential Learning and Career Success (ELCS) for two days of hands-on, self-discovery where you'll connect with others, make a difference in your community, and explore how ELCS can help you turn your passion into a meaningful career. We'll learn about ElevateU, take headshots, engage with local employers, and complete a fulfilling volunteer project at a Missoula nonprofit. You'll leave this experience with a sense of accomplishment, new knowledge about yourself and your community, and the tools and resources to find future jobs, internships, and out of the classroom experiences.

  Accessibility: This Site Activity will be engaging in moderately demanding physical labor outdoors during their volunteer project.

• New Visions: Playing Across Disciplines to Build Supportive Community

  Presented by New Visions Dance and the School of Theatre and Dance

  The culminating event for New Visions Dance is to create community with adults (ages 18-98) in an adaptive dance class where movement is used as a therapeutic modality for people with cognitive and physical differences.

  This inclusive session is about activating the body and the mind through creative movement, and play. We celebrate each other’s uniqueness and recognize that our differences make us stronger together. This experience will include making connections with community partners like: Special Olympics MT, Opportunity Resources, Summit Independent Living, and supporting arts organizations.

  This is a great BSE for anyone interested in psychology, social work, education, neuroscience, physical therapy, theatre, or dance, and the magic when these fields support one another.

  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• PawSitive Prints

  Presented by UM Student Life

  Earning your education comes with hurdles and challenges. From balancing your social life, taking care of your physical and mental health, potentially working, doing well in your academics, and so much more – it can make the 91´ÎÔª and its 220 acres feel pretty big.
  Through this Big Sky Experience, you will:
  -Learn more about the rich history, traditions. and ways to engage at UM as a student
  -Talk about what motivational/inspirational quotes or sayings have helped you through past hurdles/challenges
  -Practice creating positive/motivational/inspirational statements and phrases that will encourage you
  -Paint Griz Paws of PawSitivity in designated sidewalks on campus to encourage and inspire
  Accessibility: This Site Activity will be have elements of walking, bending, painting, and moving from the ground level to standing for the painting day.

• Play Sports and Marketing

  Presented by UM Club Hockey and Lacrosse

  We will explore some of the sports at UM like Griz Hockey, Lacrosse, Baseball and some other club sports and learn how to get involved and what it takes to make them run and work on ways to make them bigger and better. If its super hot each day will end with swim in the Clark Fork. Be prepared to walk, play games and use your brains. We will explore the different venues and partners in town, learn about how to get involved or attend games as well as build media and marketing programs.
  Accessibility: This Site Activity will include walking distances of 1+ miles, engaging in sports, and potentially jumping in the Clark Fork river.

• Pre-Health Palooza

  Presented by UM Pre-Health Programs

  Get ready to jump into the world of healthcare right here on campus. Our hands-on activities are all about fun and learning. From solving medical mysteries to searching for medicinal plants around campus, you'll explore the dynamic world of healthcare while forging lasting connections with like-minded peers. Join us and embark on a journey where learning meets excitement, shaping your future in healthcare from day one. It's the perfect start to your journey here at the 91´ÎÔª.
  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• Sentinel Herculean Hike (SHH)

  Presented by UM Campus Recreation

  We are looking for incoming students who want to GO BIG against the backdrop of the university's own mountain - MOUNT SENTINEL.

  Day one will have us climbing Mount Sentinel from the north along the smoke jumper trail and proceeding all the way to the summit for fantastic 360 degree views.

  Day two will have us climbing up past the M to the fire road and traversing the length of Mount Sentinel from north to south. Along the way we will be talking about things you might see on the mountain, some history, and maybe even some geology. These hikes will be strenuous. Will you test yourself? Yes. Will you meet cool people? Absolutely. Will you breathe hard? Probably. Will you see amazing sights? Definitely! You will be talking about this one for years folks. So get your hiking shoes and plenty of water join us for THE COOLEST Big Sky Experience: The Sentinel Herculean Hike! SHH!
  Accessibility: This Site Activity includes hiking on trails that are not wheel or motor chair accessible. Participants should be in decent physical shape and comfortable with and prepared for changing weather.

• Show Us How You Griz

  Presented by UM Brand Experience and Marketing

  Join Karen Schlatter, UM Marketing's Brand and Student Experience, and Emma Dorman, UM Social Media Manager in learning about marketing and brand experience. Then, show us how you Griz by creating content that shows how you are creative, collective, and courageous.
  Creative – Showcase unique opportunities on and off campus (Theatre and Dance, Music, outdoors). What do you think is creative about UM?
  Collective – Show us how you work as a team, whether it be in academic setting, student group, or in the Zoo Crew student section at an Athletics game.
  Courageous – Try new things on campus and off campus.
  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• Sports and Senate with ASUM

  Presented by the Associated Students of the 91´ÎÔª

  On Day One we will work with the student sports unions to have a day of play where you can meet people in different sports clubs and play sports.

  On Day Two, we'll do a mock senate meeting where you can learn more about the process of the Associated Students of 91´ÎÔª (ASUM).
  Accessibility: This Site Activity will have elements of walking, running, and other methods of engaging in sports.

• Stitching Support

  Presented by the UM Makerspace

  Join us for a meaningful, hands-on experience where creativity meets compassion. In partnership with Missoula Aging Services, the UM Makerspace invites you to stitching support for our local senior community. During this immersive event, you'll design and create fidget blankets for individuals in memory care facilities—thoughtfully crafted to offer soothing sensory stimulation. You'll also sew lightweight and weighted blankets to provide warmth, security, and a sense of care to nursing home residents.
  
  Whether you're passionate about crafting, interested in healthcare, or simply want to give back, this experience offers the chance to make a real difference—one stitch at a time.
  
  Come ready to connect, create, and contribute to the well-being of Missoula's elderly population. Your time and creativity will help bring comfort and dignity to those who need it most.
  Accessibility: This Site Activity will involve you using your hands for stitching and details. Eyesight when it comes to threading needles and stitching.

• Student Division I Athletes (Cross Country, Football, Soccer, Volleyball, Cheer, and Dance) *Override Required*

  Division I Cross Country, Football, Soccer, and Volleyball athletes, AND Cheer or Dance teams only. All other incoming Division I student athletes should select a different site activity and are expected to participate in the full Big Sky Experience program.

  All incoming student athletes participating in Division I Cross Country, Football, Soccer, or Volleyball athletics AND who are on the Cheer or Dance teams should register for this site activity, as you will be occupied with practices and other athletic responsibilities during this time. Your coaches and academic advisors will ensure you receive any pertinent information you may miss during the Big Sky Experience due to athletic obligations.

• Who is Responsible for Climate Change?

  Presented by the UM Climate Change Studies Department

  From the personal to the global, climate change conversations often get stuck on blame and responsibility, for better or worse. So, who is responsible? We will role play a UN climate negotiation and, based on your outcome, tackle the big questions about global change and how we, as individuals, make sense of its magnitude.

  Accessibility: This Site Activity is fully accessible.

• Wilderness Medicine Essentials

  Presented by Aerie Backcountry Medicine

  The Wilderness Medicine Essentials course provides a great introduction to wilderness medicine for anyone spending time outdoors. The course focuses on injury and illness prevention, patient assessment, long-term injury management, improvised splint and litter construction and environmental emergencies.
  Accessibility: Fully Accessible

• Zero Waste in the Big Sky State

  Presented by UM Sustainability

  

  Get connected with the campus community through the lens of Zero Waste. A concept that means much more than “better recycling”, you’ll work with UM Sustainability and UM's Zero Waste staff to better understand the challenges and opportunities for addressing waste within local and broader environmental justice frameworks. Join us as we survey the campus, tour Garden City Compost’s municipal facility, learn how to conduct a campus waste and compost audit, and then workshop strategies to reduce and manage the items we found. All participants will become our next change agents and ambassadors for Zero Waste on campus!
  Accessibility: This Site Activity will include walking on unpaved terrain and bending down.

• Zoo Crew & Griz Athletics

  Presented by Grizzly Athletics

  Whether you played sports in high school or just want to learn more about how you can get involved, we've got you covered! Learn traditions and chants from UM's Zoo Crew student section leaders while also hearing from coaches and student-athletes about what makes game days at UM special!
  Accessibility: Fully Accessible