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Celebrate National Parks this National Park Week with an Innovative Digital Experience and Online Activities

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Sara Wesche Sara Wesche
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National Park Service National Park WeekNational Park Week is April 18 - 22, 2020. While most National Park facilities and events are closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the National Park Service and the National Park Trust are offering a variety of online activities including virtual tours, scavenger hunts, trivia contests, and junior ranger programs to help you celebrate from home. To kick off the week, the National Park Service (@NatlParkService) and National Park Foundation will host a Twitter chat on April 16 at 1:00 PM EDT. Join the conversation and share your favorite memories, tips and stories about national parks using the hashtags #FindYourPark, #EncuentraTuParque, and #NationalParkWeek.

“Although much has changed in recent weeks, an assortment of fun and engaging digital National Park Week events can help people connect to our shared heritage and natural landscapes,” said David Vela, National Park Service Deputy Director, exercising the authority of the Director. 

Here are the ways you can join the fun! 

Digital Tours

Join Elmo and Murray from Sesame Street as they explore Grand Canyon National Park.

Tour Channel Islands National Park with Jordan Fisher and Crater Lake National Park with Dierks Bentley in these virtual visits. Watch the videos on a mobile device to get the full experience by moving around to see the full span of these remarkable landscapes. 

Meet the baby animals that call our National Parks home in this adorable video. 

Get lost from the comfort of your couch in the many real-time National Park webcams. 

Take a peek into once restricted places that served as part of America's Cold War nuclear defense with a virtual 3-D tour of the Minuteman Missile. 

Check out the virtual 3-D model of Devil’s Tower. 

Follow the social media accounts for specific National Parks, such as Yellowstone or Glacier National Park, for live virtual tours, daily images, and interactive educational programs!

Hit this link for the full list of National Park Service Find Your “Virtual” Park activities! 

devils tower national monument national park service

Digital Junior Ranger Activities

Become an Aztec Ruins Online Junior Ranger by learning about the Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico and the ancestral Pueblo people who lived there. Once you successfully complete a series of online activities you can submit your information to receive a Junior Ranger patch in the mail!

Earn your printable Homestead Virtual Ranger badge by learning about the Homestead National Monument through the pages of the National Park Service website and taking an online quiz. 

Preschool-aged kids will enjoy the printable Fort Scott Junior Ranger activity booklet. 

Find other Junior Ranger activities and ways to earn patches from home for various Parks here.

Printable Activities

Did you know the tall tree in the National Park Arrowhead logo represents the different natural resources the Parks protect? Learn what the various images on the National Park logo represent, then print and color your own National Park logo.

The National Park website has several downloadable coloring pages including the Birds of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Glen Canyon, Golden Gate Recreational Area and, Susan B. Anthony’s house. 

Explore all of the online activities for kids (or the kid in you!) that you can do at home on the National Park website.

Get Social

Follow the National Park Service on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. 

Post about your National Park experience on social media using the hashtags #FindYourPark, #EncuentraTuParque, and #NationalParkWeek.

Join the conversation on these special social media theme days using these hashtags:

        • April 18th - Junior Ranger Day - #JuniorRangerDay
        • April 19th - Volunteer Day - #NPSVolunteer
        • April 20th - Military Monday - #MilitaryMonday
        • April 21st - Transportation Tuesday - #TransportationTuesday, #NPSOnTheMove
        • April 22nd - Earth Day - #EarthDay
        • April 23rd - Throwback Thursday - #ThrowbackThursday
        • April 24th - Friendship Friday - #FriendshipFriday #NPSFriends
        • April 25th - Park Rx Day - #ParkRx, #HealthyParksHealthyPeople
        • April 26th - Bark Ranger Day - #BarkRanger

Share your National Park story for a chance to have it featured on the National Park Trust social media sites and in the #ShareYourPark gallery.

Donate

Donate directly to the National Park Foundation or start a Facebook fundraiser for the National Parks. 

Plan Your Trip

Make plans to visit a National Park in the future. Take the quiz and find out which Park is the perfect fit for you and your family. Then read up on tips and activities for families in the National Parks with the Hike it Baby blog series. 

national park junior ranger There are many ways to support our National Parks. Visit the National Park Service and National Park Trust for more information on the innovative digital experience launching this year to celebrate National Park Week! Stay up-to-date on outdoor resources, trail tips and tactics for families with young children, and community news with the Hike it Baby community newsletter. Subscribe today!

About Hike it Baby

Hike it Baby is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to getting families outdoors and on trails across the U.S. and internationally, supporting, educating and inspiring families through their more than 300 communities across North America. Since its grassroots inception in 2013 in Portland, Oregon, Hike it Baby is now a growing community of 270,000 families and 500 volunteer branch ambassadors hosting more than 1,600 hikes per month. More information, as well as daily hike schedules, can be found at HikeitBaby.com, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thank you to the National Park Service, National Park Trust and National Park Foundation for the links and resources mentioned in this article. Photos courtesy of the National Park Service and Deanna Curry.

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