Vacations and day trips are fun and at the same time these trips can be educational.  Preparing for and visiting a park offers the family opportunities to learn subjects like geography (visiting new places), history by visiting parks like the Statue of Liberty and math (think preparing a trip budget y measuring the distance to the park).  Not only that, but park visitors could learn new skills like how to paddle a kayak or canoe, how to identify the planets in the sky or how to fish.

Below are a few links that show the connection between parks and education. If you want to learn more about your own state’s standards, look up your state education agency on the web.

The state of Massachusetts

Science in the state of Massachusetts Grades 3-5

The lifecycle and more  http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/scitech/1006.pdf

All of Massachusetts standards http://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html

Texas

All of Texas’ standards

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148&menu_id=720&menu_id2=785

The lifecycle is on page 23 of this informational website by Texas Parks and Wildlife

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_p4503_0131n.pdf

Photo is courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife

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Elephant Seals along the California coast  http://www.elephantseal.org/livecam.htm

Bald Eagles in Decorah, Iowa http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

Turkey Vultures in Missouri http://www.ustream.tv/missouriturkeyvultures

Peregrine Falcons in the Mississippi River Valley http://www.ustream.tv/greatspiritblufffalcons

Peguins at the Monterey Bay Aquarium http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/efc/efc_splash/splash_cam.aspx

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Image Courtesy of the National Park Service

Cover Image Courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife.  Kids don’t realize it but their parents care about them and want them to know that more exists to life than video games, computers and television. In order to change where and how kids use their electronic devices, parents need to find activities that can compete with video games and movies. How about dinosaur tracks, seeing and feeding thousands of fish at a fish hatchery, swimming at a local lake, going on a fossil hunt, seeing the rings around Saturn through a telescope, flying a kite or camping out.

To make these activities even more successful parents/adults should plan to have food when the children are hungry, plenty of water to keep them hydrated and happy, sunscreen to prevent painful sunburns, insect repellent, the appropriate clothing in case the weather changes and patience to let the children explore to their hearts delight.

Below is a starter list of activities and links that should help get kids outside.

44 Fun Ideas for Getting Out of the House with Children

1. Sea Turtle Release

http://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/releases.htm

http://www.seaturtleinc.org/

2. Watch bats come out from under the Congress Street bridge in Austin, TX or check out bats in your area

http://www.batcon.org/index.php/all-about-bats/species-profiles.html

http://www.austincityguide.com/content/congress-bridge-bats-austin.asp

3. Visit a fish hatchery (call ahead to check on tour availability)

National Fish Hatcheries http://www.fws.gov/fisheries/nfhs/offices.html

Texas State Hatchery http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/management/hatcheries/

State Fish Hatcheries of the U.S.A. State Fish Hatcheries

4. Construct a planter box or stand for the back yard or for the railing at an apartment

5. Grow plants that attract monarch butterflies

http://www.monarchwatch.org/

6. Grow vegetables, strawberries, watermelons, sunflowers and/or pumpkins at home

http://www.burpee.com/

http://www.sustainableseedco.com/

http://www.texasheirloomseeds.com/

7. Harvest sunflowers or pumpkins and roast their seeds in the oven

8. Plant and tend to flowers that can be cut for the dinner table or taken to a nursing home

9. Take an evening away from the city to see the stars or a meteor shower

http://stardate.org/nightsky

10. Take a walk at a local park with binoculars and Frisbee in hand

11. Take swimming lessons at a local park or pool

12. Pick apples at an orchard

http://www.pickyourown.org/TX.htm

http://www.allaboutapples.com/orchard/tx.htm

13. Try camping in the backyard or get instruction through a state sponsored “How to Camp” workshop by searching Becoming an Outdoor Family or calling your state parks to see what programs may be available

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/outdoor-learning/texas-outdoor-family/

http://www.uvm.edu/extension/family/?Page=outdoorfamily.html

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/education/bow/bow_calendar.htm

http://gfp.sd.gov/outdoor-learning/BOF.aspx

http://outdoornebraska.ne.gov/education/programs/bow/BOF/outdoor_family.asp

14. Check out backyard Birds with younger children

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_w7000_0904.pdf

15. Go hunting for fossils

http://www.fossilsites.com/

16. Put water outside and see how long it takes to freeze

17. Visit a park to see alligators

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/brazos_bend/

http://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm

18. Visit a park to see where maple syrup comes from

19. Take a walk in the snow and look for animal tracks

20. Take a walk along the beach or the edge of a lake or pond and look for animal tracks

21. Go sledding on a sand dune or on a local hill in winter

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/state-parks/monahans-sandhills

http://www.nps.gov/whsa/planyourvisit/sledding.htm

http://www.nps.gov/slbe/forkids/parkfun.htm

http://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/index.htm

22. Go ice skating

23. Try ice fishing

24. Put a rain gauge in the backyard to see how much it rained

25. Put a thermometer in the shade near the house to know the temperature

26. Start a compost pile to be used on the garden the next year

27. Put a bucket under the bath faucet to see how much water is wasted when warming up the shower and use that bucket of water to water the plants in the garden

28. Have a water balloon fight and then pick up the broken balloons on a hot summer day

29. Go see dinosaur tracks at a park

Texas

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/dinosaur_valley/

Colorado/Utah

http://www.nps.gov/dino/index.htm

30. Go to the beach at low tide and look to see what is there

31. Listen for as many sounds as possible in the backyard (wind, birds, cars, raindrops, dogs, cats, coyotes)

32. Go for a picnic, lay out a blanket and watch the clouds for different shapes

33. Go for a bike ride

34. Play catch with your parent, sibling, friend or cement wall

35. Build a fort out of fallen branches in the backyard

36. Fly a kite in a park

37. Go to a kite festival

38. Go cross country skiing

39. Go snowshoeing

40. Rake leaves to make money

41. Go skateboarding

42. Kick the soccer ball in the yard or at a local park

43. Walk to the local fishing hole and fish

44. Visit Science and History Museums (and remember some days are free admission)

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Planning a Camping Trip

Where to Go

In the United States of America there are private and public areas for camping.

Private Areas

The most well known private areas are KOA or Kampgrounds of America. These campgrounds are located outside of parks and offer showers, washers and dryers, electricity, campsites where you can set your tent or trailer and sometimes a small store. http://koa.com/

Public Areas

The areas most used by the public are the government campgrounds. These campgrounds can be divided into “City Parks”, “County Parks”, “State Parks” and “Federal Parks”. The “State Parks” and the “Federal Parks” campgrounds are typically used the most.

State Parks

State parks are administered by the state in which they are located. These parks generally provide numbered campsites for setting up a tent or parking a trailer or RV, bathrooms, showers, trails, fire-rings, picnic tables, drinking water pumps and campsites with or without electricity. Sometimes state parks also have concession stands that sell ice, snacks and firewood.

During the summer, many of these parks offer free presentations led by park rangers. These presentations can cover a wide range of topics including animals, plants, stars, park history and more. Link to state parks here (an internal link to a list of links)

Costs

The cost of admission varies from one state to another and sometimes from one park to another. The cost of admission is for the use of the state park facilities for the day. If you want to camp in the park, you need to pay an additional fee.

Saving money

One possible way to save money is to buy an annual pass. This pass allows unlimited use of the state park for day use. If you are going to be visiting the states parks on a regular basis, this pass will save you money.

Federal Parks and Lands

Federal Parks can be divided into the following four types: National Parks, National Forest, Bureau of Land Management also called the BLM and the Army Corps of Engineers Lakes.

National Parks

The National Parks are the most well known parks in the United States because they include such parks as Yellowstone in Wyoming, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, Yosemite in California, Everglades in Florida and Acadia in Maine, but there are many other parks to choose from.

The purpose of these parks is to protect national treasures in the areas of biodiversity, archeology and national history.

The majority of these parks offer numbered campsites for setting up a tent or parking a trailer, public bathrooms, picnic tables, fire-rings, drinking water pumps, free educational programs, hiking trails, a map of the trails and a gift shop. As a side note, showers are not always available, especially in the western United States due to a lack of water.

Costs

If you want to use the National Park for day, you need to pay at the park entrance for this type of use. The fee you pay for the day will grant you and the people in your personal vehichle admission to the park for seven days. Like the state parks, if you want to camp in the park there is an additional fee for each night you want to camp.

If the entrance fee for using a park stretches your budget a little too far check out these dates for free admission to certain parks in 2012.  http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm

If you are going on a long trip and visiting several National Parks it may be worth buying an annual pass for $80. Here is the federal governments description of the pass.

NATIONAL PASSES: America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Program

Beginning in January 2007, the National Park Service will join the USDA Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Reclamation in the new Interagency Pass Program. This program provides pass holders access into any federal recreation site—including Acadia—that charges an entrance or standard amenity fee; some passes also offer discounts on other fees, such as camping. Each pass admits the pass holder and passengers in a non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas and pass holder plus three adults, not to exceed four adults, at per person fee areas. (Children under 16 are admitted free.)

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