MAPS Media Institute

MAPS Media Institute is a nonprofit organization which empowers, inspires and prepares Montana’s future generations for success through professional media arts instruction, engaging community service and compassionate mentoring. Established in 2004 as a free-of-charge after-school media arts program in the Bitterroot Valley, MAPS started teaching just 20 filmmaking students. Since 2004, while still free-of-charge, MAPS programming has expanded to year-round programming which reaches hundreds of students, grades 8 through 12, in dozens of schools throughout Montana. In addition to the original film class, MAPS also offers graphic design, music, new technologies, podcast, photojournalism and future readiness. MAPS program development and success are the direct result of dynamic STEAM-based curriculums paired with technology-enhanced learning, facilitated by professional instructors. Students learn fundamentals of media literacy - not only how media is put together, but also how media shapes our understanding of the world.