Western Outdoor Times - Times Spent Outdoors: Priceless!

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 http://www.everykidinapark.gov to complete an activity and obtain a free annual pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks.

'Getting To Know You'

"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."

Through Aug. 31, 2016

To receive their free pass for national parks, fourth graders can visit the Every Kid in a Park Web site 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 through August 31, 2016.

The Web site 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.

Learning Experiences

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. "

Part Of Centennial Celebration

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 the President 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.

More Information

Go to http://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/education/index.htm for Grand Canyon educational opportunities and http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/index.htm to plan your Grand Canyon visit.