PLAN YOUR VISIT
Field Trips & Groups
In-Person Field Trip
Our in-person field trips are designed to educate K-12 students on the Heart Mountain story and provoke thought about Civil Rights history in America. Check out our Education page or contact us for more information, including pre- and post-visit classroom activities. In-person field trips typically require between 90 minutes and 2 hours.
Classroom Resources:
Check out our Classroom Resources Padlet to find lesson plans, activities, reading guides, and more designed in accordance with Wyoming State Educational Standards and Common Core Standards.
How to Schedule an In-Person Field Trip
Schedule:
Schedule a visit through our website or contact our Museum Educator, Sybil Kawano at sybil@heartmountain.org or 307.754.8000 to make arrangements.
Cost:
Contact us for our student group rates.
Off-site Presentations are available for Montana and Wyoming schools. Cost varies and is based on a flat fee plus mileage. Please contact us for details and pricing.
Please provide when booking:
- Where the presentation will take place (On-site, Off-site)
- Proposed date
- Proposed time / duration of the presentation or tour
- Number in the tour (student groups need one chaperone for every 10 students)
- Age of group or school grade (K-12)
- Contact person & phone number
- Topics you will have covered previously in class
Accessibility information for visiting the interpretive center
Virtual Field Trips
Heart Mountain Interpretive Center’s Virtual Field Trip provides students with the unique opportunity to tour our exhibits and speak with our museum staff from their classrooms. Virtual Field Trips are available in a variety of themes including Life at Camp, Propaganda, Arts & Culture, Children of Heart Mountain, Military Service & Draft Resisters, and Women of Heart Mountain.
Each virtual field trip comes with classroom resources such as lesson plans and activities to engage students and enhance their experience. These resources are aligned with Wyoming Department of Education standards as well as Common Core standards
Our theater seats up to 50 visitors at one time and the average length of your visit will vary based on which activities you select:
- Interpretive Center (staff introduction, film, self-guided tour): 90 minutes
- Walking Path & Memorial (outdoors, self-guided): 20 minutes
- Original Hospital Buildings (outdoors, self-guided): 30 minutes
- Original Barrack (outdoor access, guided tours only, requires $100 reservation): 30-45 minutes
The Heart Mountain site has two spaces that are available for rent. Please contact Rebecca McKinley, our Deputy Director, at rebecca@heartmountain.org to temporarily hold a space and get more information.
Mineta-Simpson Institute
Seats up to:
- 140 (Theater Style)
We are happy to welcome commercial tours to the Heart Mountain Interpretive Center and to our National Historic Landmark site! There is a lot for commercial tours to explore: an award-winning museum that includes a vast permanent collection, a dedicated theater, two galleries for special exhibits, and a gift shop. The grounds feature original structures including hospital buildings, a barrack, and a root cellar, as well as an interpretive walking trail and a military honor roll. Learn more about the interpretive center HERE and historical site HERE.
Groups & Tours FAQs
How do I book a commercial bus tour?
Contact Rebecca McKinley, our Deputy Director, at rebecca@heartmountain.org or 307.754.8000 to book.
How much does it cost and when are you open?
Tour directors and drivers are free; please contact Rebecca McKinley at rebecca@heartmountain.org for quotes, scheduling, and any other questions about group rates for commercial tours.
We are open from 10:00am to 5:00pm every day during our summer hours and Wednesday though Saturday during our winter hours. If you would like to book a visit when we are not regularly open, we will do our best to accommodate your schedule.
Is there bus parking?
Yes. Our main driveway is large enough to accommodate a bus and there is plenty of space to load/unload passengers before parking further back. The driveway to the walking path and memorial is a large loop that allows a bus to drive around and park along the edge of the sidewalk by the entrance. The road to the hospital area is large enough to accommodate a bus but does require a tight turn-around.
The short drive to the barrack building is not large enough for a bus and has only one handicapped parking space. The barrack is accessible to ambulatory visitors via a short walking path from the front entrance of the HMIC. This path is well-maintained and marked.
Is the site handicapped accessible?
The Interpretive Center has:
- ADA-compliant doors, walkways, and bathrooms;
- a single transport chair that can be used by visitors on a first-come-first-serve basis;
- audio translations of interpretive panels in English, Japanese, Spanish, and German; and
- subtitles on the introductory video in the same languages.
The Original Barrack has:
- handicap parking; and
- an ADA-compliant access ramp and entrance.
The Memorial and Setsuko Saito Higuchi Walking Trail:
- has a paved wheelchair-accessible path that is mostly over flat ground; and
- an introductory sign with Braille
The Honor Roll and Hospital Grounds do not meet ADA standards at this time.
How long does a group visit take? What do we see?
We recommend budgeting 90 minutes for a standard group visit package. This includes a thirty-minute introduction in the theater, including a presentation by a staff member and a screening of our introductory film, and one hour for visitors to explore the exhibits at their own pace.
Can we do a shorter visit?
Yes, with a little preparation. We sell copies of our introductory film that can be shown on the bus ahead of your visit so that the introduction onsite only takes 10 minutes once everyone is seated. This effectively cuts your visit to just under 60 minutes.
Can we customize our visit?
Yes, we offer customization for commercial tours. If you have the time to see the different areas of our site outside of the Interpretive Center, you will have a chance to delve into the history and culture of Heart Mountain while standing where the camp stood.
In addition, each tour includes an introductory presentation by a knowledgeable, trained staff member. As much as we are able, we help your group understand the story of Heart Mountain in the context of the theme of your tour and the ages of your participants.
Are there special options for groups?
Yes, we do offer some special experiences for groups, for an added charge.
- Zoom presentation by former incarceree Sam Mihara: this is a twenty-minute presentation by award-winning speaker and former Heart Mountain incarceree Sam Mihara. It includes 5-10 minutes of Q&A and replaces the standard staff presentation and film. If Sam is unavailable on the day of the presentation for any reason, the speaker fee is waived and we will conduct our standard introduction instead. (Cost: $200)
- Guided tour of historic barrack with Historic Site Caretaker Johnny Tim Yellowtail: this tour includes a 30-minute presentation by Johnny Tim Yellowtail, a member of the Crow Nation, and includes both the history of the Heart Mountain barracks and the history of the Crow, for whom these lands are sacred. NOTE: The barrack is not open except during guided tours. (Cost: $100)
- Tailored staff presentation: if your group has a specific thematic interest, such as the lives of women in the camps or the legal history leading up to incarceration, we are willing to prepare a special presentation based on those interests, so long as we are given sufficient time to prepare and the appropriate staff expertise needed. (Cost: varies based on specificity and amount of research required. Please contact Cally Steussy to discuss details: callys@heartmountain.org)