MAPS – Ravalli Program
Established: 2004
Location: 515 Madison Street, Hamilton, MT 59840
Our founding program, MAPS – Ravalli County, has provided free, year-round media arts education to rural Montana youth for two decades.
Based in the county seat of Hamilton, this comprehensive program serves students from five Bitterroot Valley school districts through engaging in after-school and summer sessions.
Students access professional equipment and licensed teaching artists to work on individual and collaborative projects in film, design, music production, and emerging technologies. The program emphasizes hands-on learning, creative expression, and community engagement while preparing youth for future educational and career success.
MAPS – Ravalli County 2025-2026 Spring Session Afterschool Program
Classes run 4:00pm – 6:30pm on the dates listed below
• MAPS classes are always FREE-OF-CHARGE! •
• MAPS classes are for 8th to 12th graders •
• All abilities are welcome in all classes •
Mondays & Tuesdays, April 6 – May 18, 2026
Worldbuilding is the creative engine behind your favorite games, comics, animations, and fantasy novels – and now it’s your turn to try it. In this class, you’ll design a fictional setting, dream up the creatures or characters that inhabit it, and craft the everyday objects, technology, and art that make your world feel real.
Along the way, you’ll develop real digital art skills – exploring brushwork, color schemes, shape language, form, texture, and line economy using Procreate or Adobe Fresco on iPad. You’ll walk away with a rich, original world that’s entirely your own, and a portfolio piece you can be proud of.
Fridays, April 10 – May 22, 2026
You’ve built a bot, and now it’s time to make it unstoppable. Push your battlebot through real cycles of destruction and improvement: smash it, analyze what broke, and rebuild it better, faster, and stronger. Along the way, you’ll design and 3D print upgraded defenses, program autonomous behaviors, and capture epic battle footage to edit into a highlight reel.
From flippers and rammers to sensor-triggered attacks and team battle strategy, every week you’ll level up your skills in CAD design, Arduino coding, camera operation, and video production, all while competing for your spot at the top of the Battle Bracket.
MAPS – Ravalli County 2025-2026 Spring Music Workshop at Darby High School
Classes run 3:30 PM – 5:30 PM every Thursday, April 9 – May 28, 2026
Limited to students of Darby School District
• MAPS classes are always FREE-OF-CHARGE! •
• MAPS classes are for 8th to 12th graders •
• All abilities are welcome in all classes •
Do you have something to say and want to say it through music? In this MAPS after-school workshop, you’ll use digital production software to create your own original songs from scratch, learning how to record, loop, mix, and shape your sound the way professional artists do. You’ll also develop your skills as a writer, crafting lyrics that express your ideas. All skill levels welcome: whether totally new to music or a musician who’s ready to dig deeper, this class is your chance to experiment, create, and make something that’s truly yours.