Special Events & Exhibits
CARTER COUNTY MUSEUM, EKALAKA, MT
Special Exhibits and Events
Check out this page for changing exhibits and special events at the Carter County Museum.
Friday, August 7 at 9 a.m.
American Horse Power
Special Exhibition
The American Horse Power exhibition at Carter County Museum celebrates the history of the horse in North America and its cultural impact, particularly in Montana. Supported by a Montana250 grant, this exhibition and accompanying video series was compiled for the Carter County Museum by Ken Howie Studios, using never-seen-before footage filmed during the production of the documentaries Feek's Vision and Next Year Country.
This exhibition was on display at the Carter County Days of '85 Fair & Rodeo from August 7-9, 2026. On August 10, it reopened in the Schoolhouse Gallery at Carter County Museum. In the spring of 2027, it will move to Bozeman, Mont. Please stay tuned to this page for more information!
Thursday, September 10 at 7 p.m.
Sitting Bull's War with Paul L. Hedren
Author lecture and book signing
Award-winning author Paul L. Hedren will present a program on his latest book, Sitting Bull’s War: The Battle of the Little Big Horn and the fight for Freedom and Buffalo on the Plains. Utilizing an array of Lakota and Cheyenne accounts, pictographic renderings, and original interviews, this is the story told from the perspective of the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne.
Paul L. Hedren is a retired National Park Service historian and superintendent whose thirty-seven-year career led him from Minnesota to Wyoming, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, and Nebraska. His many books have received numerous honors, including a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America, a Western Heritage Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and multiple Best Book awards from the Little Big Horn Associates. He is a lifelong student of the Great Sioux War, and he is often found exploring the trails, battlefields, back corners, and sacred sites of that intriguing 1870s Indian war. When not in the field, Paul resides in Omaha, Nebraska.
There will be copies available of Sitting Bull's War in the museum gift shop for purchase. This event is free and open to the public. Montana teachers who attend will receive 1 hour of continuing education credits.
Saturday, September 12 at 8 a.m.
Wild Among Dinosaurs: A Fossil Walk with Carter County Museum & Wild Montana
Step off the beaten path and into deep time on this guided hike through the badlands of Eastern Montana. In partnership with the Carter County Museum, this hike cuts through a stark, weather-sculpted landscape where prehistoric secrets lie exposed in the earth. As you navigate the raw terrain, expert guides will help you uncover ancient fossils and bring to life the incredible creatures that ruled these lands millions of years ago. Join us on this family-friendly walk through history that proves Montana’s wild spirit reaches far beyond the mountain peaks.
Thursday, November 5 at 5:30 p.m.
A Night at the Museum with Allen Morris Jones, Montana's Poet Laureate
Free Admission, presented in partnership with Ekalaka Public Schools
Over the course of an hour, Allen will offer a compelling presentation that describes his personal journey toward finding the essential, irreducible elements of storytelling, a reading from his own, autobiographical poetry, demonstrating how we can find narratives in various aspects of our own lives, and a solicitation of stories from the audience, with prompts to help them get started telling their own stories. We live surrounded by stories. They shape our lives and tell us who we are, where we come from, and where we might be going. Some stories unite us as communities while personal stories inform our sense of self. Who has impacted our lives? What places have shaped us?
Widely published across genres and forms, Allen Morris Jones is the author of three novels, three children’s books, a highly regarded look at the ethics of hunting, an award-winning collection of poetry, and more than 100 published personal essays, profiles, short stories, and other incidental pieces. His first novel, Last Year’s River, was selected by Barnes and Noble for its Discover Great New Writers program; his second novel, A Bloom of Bones, was recognized as a Montana Book Award honor book. His recent poetry collection, Mumblecusser, was both a High Plains Book Award winner as well as a Montana Book Award honor book. His first children’s book, Montana for Kids, won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America. With William Kittredge, he edited The Best of Montana’s Short Fiction. He has worked as a magazine editor (Big Sky Journal), as an acquisitions editor (Lyons Press / Globe Pequot Press), small press publisher (Bangtail Press), and as a Communications Director for Montana State University. A graduate of the University of Montana in Missoula and Livingston’s Park High, he currently lives in Bozeman with his wife and teenage son.