Girl looking at a tube of fruit flies

Project Portfolio

Current Social Impact Projects

The City of Missoula is spearheading a collective, the LINK, that includes Missoula Public Library, University of Montana, and Flathead Reservation tribal partners and is devoted to building inclusive on-ramps to STEM education and career pathways. Together with our community, the LINK is creating a dynamic health-science learning hub in the Missoula Public Library awarded Best Public Library in the World 2022 by theInternational Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Funded by an award of $1.3 million dollars from the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program of the National Institutes Health, Missoula is the first city in the nation to receive a SEPA grant.

The project team includes Principal Investigator Holly Truitt (City of Missoula) owner of Holly Truitt Consulting, Co-Investigator Dr. Rachel Severson (University of Montana), Co-Investigator William Swaney (former tribal educator and educational design for Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), and Project Manager and Staff Scientist, Dr. Amanda Duley (City of Missoula) owner of SciDesigns Communication. Their co-creation process gives voice to often marginalized and underserved communities and allows projects to gain community acceptance from the outset. Of, for, and by the community, the LINK has engaged over 300 local youth, tribal members, persons with disabilities, artists, and scientists to design the health sciences hub and programming. 

  • outside photo of Missoula Public Library building.
    Missoula Public Library home of the health science hub.
  • carpenter and tribal expert holding a tule mat at the top of tipi poles in the Missoula Public Library.
    Co-designing for Place DNA to include local tribe’s tule tipi.
  • Question of how kids would co-design the DNA Playground with 8 of their responses in tiles below.
    Kids co-design for DNA Playground at Missoula Public Library.
  • Ribs climber with surrounding benches for little kids to climb.
    Elk ribs climber for DNA Playground.
  • Kids standing around a table with a female scientist explaining climate change in the UM Living Lab.
    Climate educational event with community partners at UM Living Lab.
  • Photo of DNA climber from top to bottom at Missoula Public Library.
    Co-designed DNA climber at Missoula Public Library.
  • Photo of choice cards for kids to pick an activity around Missoula related to heathy living with choice tokens.
    Healthy choices and perspective taking activity developed for UM Living Lab.
  • Dr. Severson with child at UM Living Lab.
    Dr. Severson doing a research study with child participant.

Youth Outreach Mountain Biking Committee

Led by MTB Missoula, Missoula’s Mountain Bike Advocacy Group, the Youth Outreach Mountain Biking Committee is a collaboration between the City of Missoula’s Parks and Recreation, MT Alpha western MT’s women mountain biking advocacy group, and Free Cycles sustainable community bicycle shop. This committee is committed to breaking down access barriers to mountain biking and access to trails for Missoula’s underserved youth.

Led by ED John Stegmaier with chairs Kris Litz and Dr. Amanda Duley of SciDesigns Communication, the collaboration is creating a youth mountain bike library to offer a seasonal mountain bike rental for low-income families. The bike library rental will be supported with community and family events on bike maintenance, safety, and “Take a Kid Mountain Biking” events at local trail heads 2-3 times a year. Participants in our current “Take a Kid Mountain Biking” events include students from two of Missoula’s Title I schools Lowell and Hawthorn Elementary Schools as well as All Nations Health Center’s Project Venture program.

  • 7 kids and 1 adult standing with bikes in front of a sign that says Kim Williams Trail.
    Lowell Students on Kim Williams Trail.
  • kids in helmets standing with their bikes on a trail in the woods giving thumbs up
    Lowell and Hawthorne students riding on Pattee Creek trails.
  • kids on Mountain bikes in the forests on a trail through tall ponderosa pine trees
    Taking the path less traveled through nature.
  • line of kids on bikes on a trail with the last kid on a tricycle.
    Tricycle provided for kids that don’t know how to ride a bike.

Lolo Watershed Group Educational Outreach

SciDesigns Communication is proud to be part of the Lolo Watershed Group‘s mission to promote the health of Lolo Creek. Together, we emphasize education, coordination, and stakeholder collaboration to ensure the conservation of this vital watershed.

Over the past three years, SciDesigns Communication has collaborated with hydrologists from the National Forest Service to create engaging classroom and field trip curriculum. Our aim is to provide meaningful educational experiences for the students of Lolo’s one-room schoolhouse, Woodman School. Not only do we create the curriculum, but we also take a hands-on approach. SciDesigns Communication leads each engagement event, ensuring that the educational experience is enriching and impactful.

  • Kids gathered at a table looking down at bugs by the stream.
    Spring collection of invertebrates indicative of a healthy stream.
  • Kids taking notes on the species of bugs they collected.
    Woodman School 4-8th graders identifying invertebrate species.
  • Lolo Watershed Group stream ecologist teaching Woodman students about the creek.
  • Lolo Watershed Group and NSF hydrologist teaching Woodman students about the creek.

Completed Projects

Mipnunum k̓ itki·kȼiǂ: Digital Health Science Education and Career Pathways using Indigenous Knowledge

Mipnunum k̓ itki·kȼiǂ was co-designed to advance Health Science Education and Career Pathways for Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal youth. Mipnunum k̓ itki·kȼiǂ  links the Salish and Kootenai words for: figure out and succeed in understanding. Approved by Tribal Council, co-created with tribal leaders and youth and rich with native STEM and cultural role models, the 15-week project allowed over 30 tribal students to research and experiment at the intersection of health science and traditional knowledge. 

The project team includes Principal Investigator Holly Truitt (City of Missoula) owner of Holly Truitt Consulting, Co-Investigator William Swaney (former tribal educator and educational design for Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), and Project Manager and Staff Scientist, Dr. Amanda Duley (City of Missoula) owner of SciDesigns Communication. Using our nationally awarded co-design model, our project team empowers communities to take the lead in guiding the design and implementation of projects. Together, we work collaboratively to achieve our shared goals and make a meaningful impact.

  • photo of zoom meeting with 8 screens participating.
    Co-designing with the Flathead Nation’s native community members.
  • collection of local native indigenous youth books.
    Created a local indigenous story collection for Missoula Public Library.
  • zoom photo with 5 people including students during a class.
    Leading virtual class with native students.
  • Tribal elder speaking with youth about today’s challenges to the tribe’s health.
  • Salish language and culture professor teaching student how to make cordage at National Bison Range.
  • youth taking blood pressure.
    Students measuring blood pressure before and after participating in traditional ecological knowledge activities.
  • Native teacher asking circle of elders and students what makes a healthy mind, body, and spirit.
    Project team member asking elders and students what healthy mind, body, and spirit look like for their tribe.
  • students and elders gathered outside around the fire to discuss health and the tribe.
    Students and elders gathered around the fire at the National Bison Range to discuss what health means for the tribe.

All Under One Roof: A Museum-Library-Food Bank Collaboration to Feed Bodies, Minds, and Community

A collective with the Missoula Food Bank and Community Center, Missoula Public Library, and University of Montana’s spectrUM Discovery Area, this project co-created an internationally award winning family learning center that is one part science museum, one part library, and one part meal site within Missoula’s food bank. The project’s research explores and disseminates a co-creative, collective-impact model for museums, libraries, and the social sector. The project team included Principal Investigator Holly Truitt owner of Holly Truitt Consulting and Project Manager and Staff Scientist, Dr. Amanda Duley  owner of SciDesigns Communication.

  • Grandma listening to child play a play guitar at EmPower Place
  • bookshelves with youth books at EmPower place
  • kids sitting at a table with paint in Empower place in front of the ball wall
  • a room with tables and chairs with a huge ball wall for kids to play with

Inspiring Hamilton and Corvallis’s Next Generation about STEM and Career Pathways: a Collective Impact Effort

The University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area, its Bitterroot advisory group, and K-12 schools co-created role model experiences that engaged K-12 students with local educational and career pathways. Dr. Amanda Duley of SciDesigns Communication was charged with leading professional development on youth engagement and science communciation for the community’s role models.

Big Sky Brain Project

A collaboration between the University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area and UM’s Center for Structural and Functional Neuroscience, this project created a model for engaging rural, tribal, and urban communities with neuroscience, higher education, and health careers.

Project Highlights:

Our collaborative project yielded remarkable deliverables:

1. Mobile “Brain” Exhibition: We created an innovative mobile exhibition that brings the wonders of the brain to communities far and wide, inspiring curiosity and learning.

2. spectrUM’s In-Museum BrainLab: At the spectrUM Discovery Area, we established an in-museum BrainLab, where visitors can explore the complexities of the brain through interactive experiences.

3. High-School Explainer Program: As part of the project, we launched a high-school Explainer program, empowering young minds to delve into the fascinating world of neuroscience.

Leadership and Implementation:

Dr. Amanda Duley of SciDesigns Communication led the design and implementation of the project’s educational outputs. Her expertise and passion drove the success of this initiative, making it a valuable resource for our communities.