Grand Canyon National Park Welcomes Fourth Grade Students through Every Kid in a Park Initiative
Grand Canyon, Ariz. Grand Canyon National Park invites all fourth grade students to visit
the park for free as part of the White House’s new Every Kid in a Park
program. As of September 1, fourth grade students can now go to www.everykidinapark.gov to complete an activity and obtain a free annual pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks.
“During
the National Park Service’s centennial celebration, we want everyone to
get to know their national parks, and we’re offering a special
invitation to fourth graders and their families to discover everything
that national parks offer,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan
B. Jarvis. “We hope these free passes for fourth graders will introduce
fourth graders, their classes, and families to our national treasures,
places where they can run and play, explore and learn.”
To receive their free pass for national parks, fourth graders can visit the Every Kid in a Park website
and play a game to access the special Every Kid in a Park pass. Fourth
graders and their families can then use this pass for free entry to
national parks and other federal public lands and waters across the
country from September 1st, 2015 through August 31st,
2016. The website also includes fun and engaging learning activities
aligned to educational standards, trip planning tools, safety and
packing tips and other important and helpful information for educators
and parents.
In
addition to providing every fourth grader in America the free entry
pass, fourth grade educators, youth group leaders and their students
across the country will also participate in the program through field
trips and other learning experiences. Programs geared
toward fourth graders at Grand Canyon include distance learning
experiences, field trips, and in-class ranger presentations. “We’re
excited for fourth graders to go outside, explore Grand Canyon, and be a
part of the future generation that takes the park service into our next
100 years,” said Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave
Uberuaga. “
The
goal of the Every Kid in a Park program is to connect fourth graders
with the great outdoors and inspire them to become future environmental
stewards, ready to preserve and protect national parks and other public
lands for years to come. The program is an important part of the
National Park Service’s centennial celebration in 2016, which encourages
everyone to Find Your Park.
Every
Kid in a Park is an administration-wide effort, launched by President
Obama and supported by eight federal agencies, including the National
Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau
of Reclamation, Department of Education, Fish and Wildlife Service,
Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Go to http://www.nps.gov/grca/
