Program Description

The Casper Mountain Science Program (CMSP) offers learning opportunities for K-12 Natrona County School District students. Our goal is to take students outside to learn science in the natural environment on Casper Mountain. CMSP is a place-based, multidisciplinary program where knowledge is interwoven with Wyoming's ecology. We use the outdoors to introduce students to field studies and to develop an appreciation of Casper’s backyard, and the natural world as a whole. We operate out of a lodge on Casper Mountain surrounded by acres of forest, meadows, and riparian habitat, all of which serve as learning areas for students. 

The Casper Mountain Science Program offers both day and residential (overnight) programs. Programs are scheduled from September through December for the fall semester and then we start again in February and run through May for the spring semester. 

Multi-day programs are 2 day, 1 night.  During the overnight stays, students stay in yurts, which are located near the main lodge. For day programs, a class arrives on Casper Mountain around 9:15 AM and leaves around 1:15 PM. Regardless of the length of the visit, students spend time outdoors and practice thinking like a scientist.  Students are encouraged to use their own observation to make inferences, ask questions, and to draw their own conclusions. 

Casper Mountain Science Program intern instructors are enthusiastic, college-aged men and women who are interested in exploring place-based science education and improving their teaching skills. Students are placed in small groups and led by one or two of our intern instructors. These young people from all over the country guide students through science inquiry, provide leadership to the students in their group and supervise evening entertainment. 

CMSP Staff

Eric Reish is a long time Casper, WY resident, and is nearing the end of a third decade as a Natrona County classroom educator in both Science and Mathematics. The majority of his time has been spent teaching at Dean Morgan Junior High School in Casper. Over the years, Eric has served on many committees at both the school level as well as the district level. Before stepping into more of a leadership role, Eric also coached several different sports at both the Junior High and High School levels. 

Eric’s outdoor interests and knowledge of central Wyoming has grown over the years. Starting as a child, he was lucky enough to spend time with family outside at any available opportunity. As an adult, he has spent summers employed in various outdoor endeavors, including Archeology field surveys and mapping, log cabin construction, fire mitigation, and as part of a logging crew removing diseased trees in the Wind River Mountain Range.  

A teaching degree with focus in both Biology and Mathematics from Idaho State University was a natural step in his growth to share his appreciation of the natural world. Eric enjoys combining multiple contents to Science and Mathematics and is excited to share with students and staff in a placed-based education model.

Shelby Foery is a Casper native who grew up frequenting the surrounding recreational sites; Edness Kimball Wilkins State Park, Alcova and Pathfinder Reservoir, and Casper Mountain where she would inevitably find an animal and want to know more about it. Lucky to have a family that encouraged/indulged this behavior, she quickly found joy in learning and interacting with animals and the outdoors. Today, her interests haven’t changed much. She enjoys spending time with family, ice fishing, hiking, or snowshoeing and her love of Wyoming has only grown as she’s explored the state. 

She graduated with her bachelors in biology from University of Wyoming in 2021 and has gained a variety of work experience including state-wide field work, conservation, and education. As an intern for CMSP in the spring of 2023, she loved being able to see the joy she experienced as a kid exploring Casper Mountain in the students that visited. She is excited to be back with CMSP to assist the students and the interns in finding enjoyment.