:Draft:Yellowstone Gateway Museum
{{AFC submission|d|v|u=NStreiter|ns=118|decliner=Pbritti|declinets=20250416042629|reason2=adv|ts=20250415224708}}
{{Short description|Montana History Museum}}
{{Draft topics|history|northern-africa|education|earth-and-environment}}
{{AfC topic|org}}
{{connected contributor}}
{{Infobox museum
| name = Yellowstone Gateway Museum
| logo =
| image = Yellowstone Gateway Museum.jpg
| image size =
| caption = Yellowstone Gateway Museum, Livingston, MT
| map_type =
| map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|45.66403968096615|-110.56422334362985|display=inline, title}},
| established = 1977
| dissolved =
| location = 118 W. Chinook St.
Livingston, MT, U.S.
| type = Museum of Park County, MT
| website = {{URL|https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/}}
}}
The Yellowstone Gateway Museum preserves, studies, and shares the history of Park County, Montana. Its collection of over 50,000 objects reflects more than 12,000 years of human experience as well as longer histories of local animal, plant, and mineral development.{{cite web |title=50 States of Preservation: The Yellowstone Gateway Museum in Livingston, MT |url=https://www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project/50-states-preservation-the-yellowstone-gateway-museum-in-livingston-mt |website=National Endowment for the Humanities}}{{cite web |title=Yellowstone Gateway Museum |url=https://www.mtmemory.org/nodes/view/2246 |website=Montana History Portal |access-date=15 April 2025}}
= Overview =
Permanent exhibitions consider, among other topics, Park County’s role as the historic gateway to Yellowstone National Park; ancient and modern Native cultures{{cite web |title=What do we know about Montana's earliest residents |url=https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2024-12-05/what-do-we-know-about-montanas-earliest-residents |website=Montana Public Radio |access-date=15 April 2025}}; legacies of transportation, especially of railways, in the American West; and histories of local industry, including ranching and rodeo. Outdoor exhibits include a one-room school house, a historic blacksmiths shop, and an original Northern Pacific Railway caboose. The museum is also a site on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.{{cite web |title=YGM: Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/yellowstone-gateway-museum.htm |website=National Park Service |access-date=15 April 2025}}
= Public Programs =
The museum hosts a regular calendar of public programs and events. For example, the Yellowstone Gateway Museum Foundation Speaker Series, brings visiting scholars to Park County, Montana to give public lectures, lead classes at local schools, and guide field trips.{{cite web |title=Yellowstone Gateway Museum Foundation Speaker Series |url=https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum-Foundation-Speaker-Series/ |website=Park County |access-date=15 April 2025}} {{cite web |title="Grey Wolves and Humans in Deep Time, Recent History, and Now" |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwKVTFAAlrQ&t=1878s |website=YouTube |access-date=15 April 2025}} Previous speaker series include the Yellowstone Perspectives: Spring 2022 Virtual Speaker Series and "Montana Native Peoples: Perspectives on the Clovis Child."{{cite web |title=YELLOWSTONE PERSPECTIVES: Spring 2022 Virtual Speaker Series |url=https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/YELLOWSTONE-PERSPECTIVES-Spring-2022-Virtual-Speaker-Series/ |website=Park County |access-date=15 April 2025}} {{cite web |title=Montana Native Peoples: Perspectives on the Clovis Child |url=https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/Montana-Native-Peoples-Perspectives-on-the-Clovis-Child/ |website=Park County |access-date=15 April 2025}} The museum also hosts regular public programs, including a community book club and monthly Family Days, which offer hands-on activities for young visitors.{{cite web |title=Family Days |url=https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/event/Family-Days/ |website=Park County |access-date=15 April 2025}} {{cite web |title=Yellowstone Gateway Museum to hold family-friendly scavenger hunts |url=https://www.explorebigsky.com/yellowstone-gateway-museum-holds-family-friendly-scavenger-hunts/52975 |website=Explore Big Sky |access-date=15 April 2025}}
= Collections, Teaching, and Research =
The Yellowstone Gateway Museum houses a research room and numerous archives. Research tools include the full 1887-1940 voting records for the county; City of Livingston business registers; Polk Directories; and a full, original index of proper names appearing in the early decades of the Park County newspapers. There is also a photographic archive containing more than 10,000 historic photographs. The Bill and Doris Whithorn photograph collection, established by the museum's first caretakers, is available to view online.{{cite web |title=Whithorn Collection Online |url=https://yellowstone.pastperfectonline.com/search?utf8=?&search_criteria=%22Whithorn+Collection%22&searchButton=Search |website=Yellowstone Gateway Museum}}
The museum partners with local schools to provide classes and tours. It also offers a range of teaching materials for school groups to use at the museum or through outreach programs.{{cite web |title=YGM Teaching Trunks |url=https://www.parkcounty.org/Yellowstone-Gateway-Museum/Teaching-Trunks/ |website=Yellowstone Gateway Museum |access-date=15 April 2025}}
= History and Structure =
The Yellowstone Gateway Museum was founded in 1964 by a group of citizens. In 1977, the museum moved to Livingston’s three-story North Side School building, purchased with funds from the community and Park County. Today it has a small full-time staff, a team of volunteers, a Park County Board of Directors, and a Foundation Board of Trustees.
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