Tag archives for National Parks
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National Kids to Parks Day is Saturday, May 18. National Kids to Parks Day is all about kids connecting with nature, so visit the National Kids to Parks Day website to find an event near you! As the National Park Trust mascot Buddy Bison says, “Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!”
Ask your parents to sign up at the official National Kids to Parks website.
(AD) Check out the National Geographic Kids National Parks Guide U.S.A.
See pictures of U.S. national parks on National Geographic Kids.
It’s time to celebrate the national parks! April 27 is volunteer day, so look for opportunities to help out in your nearest national park.
National Park Week began on April 20 and runs through April 28. Is your family going to visit a national park this weekend?
Learn about National Park Week on the National Park Service website.
Celebrate America’s parks on May 19! Kids all over the country will be visiting parks this Saturday. Are you planning to visit a park with your family this weekend? Check out the National Kids to Parks Day website to find an event near you and register to participate. As the National Park Trust mascot Buddy Bison says, “Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!”
Did you visit a park for National Kids to Parks Day last year?
Do you have a favorite national park or state park?
Ask your parents to sign up at the official National Kids to Parks website.
(AD) Check out the National Geographic Kids National Parks Guide U.S.A.
(AD) Tell your parents about the National Geographic National Parks book and app.
See pictures of U.S. national parks on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Jim Neumann, My Shot
Celebrate America’s parks on May 19! Kids nationwide are gearing up for the second annual National Kids to Parks Day. “National Kids to Parks Day encourages children across America to get out and play. This simple idea of playing in a park can potentially give millions of kids the reason to get active and get outside just as families prepare for summer,” said Grace Lee, executive director of the National Park Trust.
Visit the National Kids to Parks Day website to find an event near you and register to participate. As the National Park Trust mascot Buddy Bison says, “Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!”
Ask your parents to sign up at the official National Kids to Parks website.
(AD) Check out the National Geographic Kids National Parks Guide U.S.A.
(AD) Tell your parents about the National Geographic National Parks book and app.
See pictures of U.S. national parks on National Geographic Kids.
Photograph by Joel Ocay, My Shot
From April 16 to 24, 2011, the U.S. National Park Service will offer free admission to its 394 park sites. Grab your camera and explore a park (or two). Upload your pictures to NG Kids My Shot with the tag “Park Week.” Your photo might be featured in a gallery of the best park images.
In the meantime, click through U.S. National Parks pictures and get inspired to capture images of your own.
Also, check out the Most Visited Parks photos.
Photograph by David Yegerlehner, My Shot
This summer, kids participating in the Junior Ranger programs at national parks across the country can earn a special sticker designating them Let’s Move Outside Junior Rangers! All you have to do to get your sticker is do a physical activity while working towards your Junior Ranger badge. Check the Let’s Move website and see if a park near you participates.
Learn more about Let’s Move Outside on the Let’s Move! website.
How much do you know about the national parks?
Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Photograph courtesy of the National Park Service
The winner of the National Park Foundation’s First Bloom garden design contest has been announced! Fort Smith National Historic Site in Arkansas came in first place. The design features raised beds planted with native Arkansas plants, vegetables, fruits, and flowers. To fit in with the historic nature of the park, youth from Girls, Inc. of Fort Smith will help maintain the garden wearing costumes from the 1860s.
The Fort Smith National Historic Site’s First Bloom group will be taking a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit national parks such as the National Mall. The other winners will get grants to help them with their projects.
Visit the First Bloom site to see a gallery of all the entries.
How much do you know about the national parks? Quiz Your Noodle and find out!
Illustration courtesy National Parks
Foundation
This year’s BioBlitz species study in Biscayne National Park near Miami, Florida begins today. The 24-hour event teams together volunteer scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members to find and identify as many species of plants, animals, microbes, fungi, and other organisms as possible.
A BioBlitz gives kids and adults the opportunity to join biologists in the field and participate in a real-life research expedition. It’s a fun and exciting way to learn about the biological diversity of local parks and to better understand how to protect them.
National Geographic is helping conduct a BioBlitz in a different national park each year during the decade leading up to the U.S. National Park Service Centennial in 2016. Volunteers at the 2009 Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore BioBlitz turned up more than 1,200 species compared with more than 1,700 in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in 2008, and more than 650 in Washington, D.C.’s Rock Creek Park in 2007.
Would you consider participating in a BioBlitz?
Learn more about a BioBlitz.
Get BioBlitz updates on National Geographic’s Blog WILD.
Photograph by Susan Poulton
Do you want to learn more about national parks and have some fun at the same time? First Bloom is a National Park Foundation program just for kids in grades four through six where kids do activities and meet with park rangers once a month. Kids can learn about environmental topics such as invasive species vs. native plants and how they affect an ecosystem.
This spring, First Bloom groups designed gardens that feature native plants from their local parks. You can vote for your favorite design. The group that gets the most votes will win a free trip to a national park.
Learn more about First Bloom and vote for your favorite garden designs on the National Parks Foundation website.
What are invasive plants? Get the scoop on National Geographic Kids.
Illustration courtesy National Parks Foundation
This weekend is the perfect opportunity to pitch a tent, take a hike, or tour a national park near you to celebrate National Park Week, from April 17 to April 25. The park service is also waiving the entrance fees at all 392 parks in the U.S., and many parks are holding special events during the week, including some Earth Day activities.
Learn more about National Park Week on the National Park Service website.
See photos of national parks from around the country (including these hidden gems), then Quiz Your Noodle.
Photograph by Caity Lynch, My Shot
Have you ever hiked or camped in a national park? Then you probably have seen a park ranger on duty. The National Park Foundation wants kids ages 9 to 12 to enter a contest and write an essay answering this question: If you were a National Park Ranger for a day, how would you describe the national parks to someone who’s never been before?
The winner of the contest will receive $200 in Merrell gift certificates, an Olympus camera, and an America the Beautiful pass. The pass allows free entry to all of America’s recreation lands.
Learn more about the contest on the National Park Foundation website.
Want some inspiration? Visit the photo gallery to see great shots from the parks, then Quiz Your Noodle and see how much you know about these national treasures.
Beginning in 2010, coin collectors will be able to collect a series of 56 new quarters that will depict national sites in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The mint worked with state officials to select the sites and collaborated with the U.S. Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The first five quarters in the series will depict:
- Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- Yosemite National Park, California
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Mt. Hood National Forest, Oregon
Get the release dates for all 56 quarters on the United States Mint website.
Quiz Your Noodle and find out how much you know about the national parks.
Photograph by Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama and the first family took a trip through Montana, Colorado, and Arizona this past weekend. President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Sasha and Malia visited Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful geyser and ventured to the edge of the deep chasm of the Grand Canyon (which is up to a mile deep in some places).
Read more about the Obamas’ trip on the L.A. Times.
Think you know your national parks? Quiz Your Noodle and see if you have your facts straight.
See pictures of beautiful national parks in the Photo Gallery.
