Melissa Brown's undergraduate research at the University of Montana included this seed germination experiment for aquatic plants at Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park.

The Horse Whisperer reinforces the popular image of Montana as a land of small towns and vast spaces. But how are local students supposed to get the experience they need in modern biology to become a veterinarian like the Robert Redford character?

It isn't easy. Biology has changed tremendously in recent decades. Teachers are being asked to help students run gels, purify DNA, and carry out experiments. But their schools lack resources and the teachers may be unfamiliar with the material.

The University of Montana is showing how a university can help rural teachers provide their students with the hands-on experiences that are now considered essential for learning biology. The university educates most of Montana's future teachers. Since 1993, it has been redesigning many of the preservice science courses that the teachers take as undergraduates. The university's science departments and school of education are working together to replace outmoded lectures and "cookbook laboratories" with research experiences, collaborative learning, and increased use of technology.

The University of Montana's success provides a model for other campuses that serve rural communities - but it is not the only one. Other institutions supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute also have adopted innovative approaches. For example:

•  Northern Arizona Universityprovides interactive instructional television to locations statewide, offering a wide array of courses to thousands of students, including Native Americans who could not otherwise participate.

• At the University of Alabama, specially equipped vans that are part of the Science in Motion program bring high-technology biology and chemistry classrooms to hundreds of high schools.

• The Teaching with Emerging Technologies Program at North Carolina State Universityis being expanded, bringing new technologies and opportunities for teacher development to rural counties in the state.

•  Louisiana State Universityhas organized a Molecular Biology Outreach Program that provides Louisiana teachers with training and equipment.