This weekend students from the University of Great Falls attended the 18th annual regional conference of the Murdock College Science Research Program.

UGF professor Dr. Nate Bickford said, "None of our research here is something that other people have done. It's not canned science. It's cutting edge, it's new."

And that's exactly what UGF students showcased at the annual conference held this year in Spokane, and they said that the whole process was an excellent learning tool.

Moses Leabens, one of the presenters, noted, "You get to not only present your research but look at other people's research but look at other people's research and learn and understand more about different kinds of science."

The research ranged from headwater streams to bird population densities of cheatgrass.

Bickford says the students spent months working hard on their project: "They had to go out and sample, work with the data, analyze it, and come up with conclusions and then present it and explain it to faculty and students from a number of other colleges. It's a really great experience for them to not only get out and actually get into science, but also get to the point where you're explaining it to other people."

Students say the event also helped them polish their people and public speaking skills, and much more. Erin Fenger said, "What kind of work goes into doing research, and how much work there is to it, and learned a lot about how to write it up, and I learned a lot at the conference from people asking me questions."

The university says the science program is the fastest-growing on the campus.

WEB EXTRA: you can learn more about the Murdock research program online:

The Murdock College Science Research Program is designed exclusively for private four-year liberal arts colleges in the Trust's grantmaking region.

The goal of the program is to strengthen faculty and undergraduate student research efforts in the natural sciences in these colleges. Grants are given to institutions with the capacity for developing division-wide, faculty-student research programs that can be sustained with institutional resources and external funding.