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Introduction
Connecting another 1 million students with national parks.
Building on a child’s innate wonder and curiosity about the natural world, Open OutDoors for Kids connects students to their national parks through field trips, classroom activities, and educational activities.
By connecting schools with field trips to national parks and classrooms with virtual experiences, NPF is able to help more students experience national parks. Hoping to help mold lifelong national park stewards, this program helps students, teachers, and families feel safe and supported as they explore national parks and promotes physical and emotional health and civic engagement skills. Using the spectacular and unparalleled resources of our nation's 400+ national parks, the program's goal is to connect more children to their culture and heritage, enhance hands-on learning opportunities, and deepen connections to the natural world. Having connected 1 million students to parks already, NPF aims to connect another million to the wonder of national parks by 2024.

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1MStudentsSince 2011, more than 1 million kids have been connected to our national parks through hands-on learning with Open OutDoors for Kids.
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86Unique Education ProgramsSince 2020, Open OutDoors for Kids Hybrid Learning grants have helped 32 sites create and deploy 86 unique educational programs.
Program Highlights

Park staff with Big Hole National Battlefield and Whitman Mission National Historic Site's education programs collaborated with the Colville, Nez Perce, and Umatilla tribes to share more expansive stories. Through distance learning activities, such as pre-recorded virtual tours and presentations by cultural demonstrators, nearby communities and student groups were connected through stories.

In combining historic and contemporary primary source material with engaging, flexible activities and lessons, "Voting is My Superpower" at Martin Van Buren National Historic Site seeks to inspire 7th and 8th graders to embrace the foundational skills and knowledge required to be savvy citizens and well-informed voters.

New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, in collaboration and partnership with the New Orleans Jazz Museum, is creating a virtual field trip program called "New Orleans Cultural & Musical Connections." These field trips, rooted in culturally responsive teaching, connects students with the history, music, and traditions of New Orleans.

A California State Park and National Park Service collaboration at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, this program focuses on stewardship through a Latino perspective. Park liaisons co-create, alongside Latino families, live virtual experiences and at-home activities intended to reach Title I fourth grade students and their families across Los Angeles County.

Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve's Florida Salt Marsh Superheroes program utilizes videos, discussion, virtual field trips, and student research and observation to create "superheroes" of the National Park Service. Educators participating in the program will receive Habitats at Home Exploration Kits, which include nature observation tools that will help them build skills including organization and critical thinking.
Program Updates
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Press ReleaseNational Park Foundation Honors Corporate Partners that Preserve and Enrich National Parks for Future Generations
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Press ReleaseNational Park Foundation Funds New and Expanded Learning Opportunities to Connect Kids to Parks
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UpdateWorking Together for the Future of Parks
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UpdateAnother Year of Impact in Our Parks
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UpdateSchool is Back in Session
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UpdateDistance Learning on the Mississippi River
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UpdateEvery Day is Earth Day
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UpdateOpening Outdoor Adventures for Youth in Urban Communities
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UpdateCelebrating a Year of Achievements in Our National Parks