EBS STAFF
HATCH, a nonprofit started by Bozeman’s Yarrow Kraner in 2004, has since spread to global proportions, but always stays true to its Big Sky roots and specifically, its founding sponsor Moonlight Basin.
Each year, in addition to other events in the U.S., Latin America and Europe, the summit convenes in Big Sky, bringing together the brightest minds in engineering, the arts, science, math and technology in a melting pot of race, age, cultures and talent for four-days of workshops, TEDx-like talks, and performance art, all with the intent to “hatch a better world.”
The idea is that exposure to each other’s unique brilliance will open new creative avenues, building a pipeline of ideation and innovation from Big Sky to the rest of the world and back.
Although the summit, which will take place at Moonlight Basin Lodge from Oct. 3-7, is invitation-only, Big Sky residents and students also have a chance to attend and participate.
Each year, five students, and two educators from Big Sky School District and Bozeman School District are nominated to attend the HATCH Summit from the thousands of applicants from around the globe.
The HATCH Summits bring together a carefully curated group of 100 thought leaders with the purpose of accelerating solutions to global challenges.
HATCH alumni include NASA astronauts, Oscar-winning filmmakers, Pulitzer Prize winners, tech pioneers, educators, CEOs, and global innovators working to make positive global impact. Each summit strives for 50/50 gender balance, and 20 percent of the invited curation are students and educators, representing over a dozen countries and countless industries. This year’s eclectic line-up is no exception.
Hundreds of ideas and dozens of projects have become a reality as a result of HATCH. Here in the Big Sky community, three programs have been launched in collaboration with Lone Peak High and Ophir School.
Created during HATCH Big Sky 2016, led by Grammy-nominated composer and musician Philip Sheppard and Big Sky’s own John Zirkle, the HATCH Ostinato Project was formed to empower students to realize that they can compose music by removing inhibitive barriers common to the underserved music classroom. The program matches composers and industry musicians with schools and music classes to allow for collaboration on music creation, resulting in professional music production.
Led by toy inventor David Yakos, the Inventors Workshop is designed to help high school students understand the world of invention by exploring the origins of product ideas. Guest video appearances included the Inventor of Siri, Tom Gruber.
The Storyteller’s workshop, led by Elke Goverstsen, CEO and Publisher of Mamalode, was a three part series that brought Oscar-winning writers to inspire students in a larger seminar forum, followed by smaller, after school break-out sessions focused on pushing participants to explore their own writing talents on varied topics. Two students were subsequently published.
NextGen LaunchPad is an entrepreneurial project-based curriculum that encourages high school students to pitch projects that can have positive impacts on their community, state, or the world. Selected students are then mentored from various members of the HATCH network to bring their project to life.
This year, HATCH launched HATCH Academy to connect the dots between where a young person is now and where they want to be, building necessary life skills under the apprenticeship of a seasoned professional.
Visit hatchexperience.org to learn more.
