NPS Photo
Me teaching kids about rocks
August 19, 2009
Lauren - RMNA Intern
Hi! I’m Lauren, one of the environmental education (EE) interns for the summer of 2009. I’m a fourth grade teacher during the school year and came to RMNP looking for a volunteer position to pass the summer. Instead, I got the opportunity to work my dream job: teaching kids in the great outdoors! It’s been great! Not to mention that I live and work among some of the most beautiful mountains in the United States. I’ve loved my weekend hikes and climbs just as much as my weekly nature walks and programs with students.
I can’t believe it’s already August. I only have a few weeks left here in the park. As a result, I’ve been reflecting on the past two months here in the environmental education department. I thought I’d give you an insider’s look at my favorite parts of our program.
One of the best elements of EE is the people I’ve been able to work with. We have a fun, relaxed atmosphere that helps balance out how incredibly busy we are. Most of our programs are created and executed by teams of two or three of us, so it’s imperative that we work together constantly - without killing each other. No problem so far! We have a great manager who is both fun and serious about propelling us toward high quality program development. She’s also a great communicator, so it’s easy to ask her questions and to know exactly what she’s looking for on any given project.
One of my favorite programs is our weekly Discovery Days series. We launched this program series this summer. This four-hour program is open to the public and takes place in the Moraine Park Museum. The program consists of interactive stations that guide kids and their families to learn about the amazing wildlife and landscapes of the park. For example, at our geology program called “Our Park Rocks!”, kids read a poster about the three rock types and used crayon shavings to create their own sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rocks. Visitors love this program! We get about 100-150 visitors each Monday. Many kids visit every poster and complete a short booklet that reflects what they learned from the activity stations. The program fulfills their requirement for a ranger-led program in the Junior Ranger book, and we award about fifteen Junior Ranger badges every week. It’s so fulfilling to see kids learn so much at the program and to watch them beam as we sign their Junior Ranger books!
A ton of work goes into the preparation of Discovery Days. Two EE interns usually work on putting each week’s program together. We research and type up the content, then spend hours formatting it into graphically appealing posters. We brainstorm activities, type instructions, collect materials, and spend at least two hours setting up on the morning of the program. During the summer of 2010, Discovery Days will continue and expand. If you work here as an intern next summer, you could be part of the Discovery Days team.
There are many more programs I’d love to share with you: my favorite nature hikes, a scavenger hunt I led around Moraine Park Museum, teaching track and scat identification through our “C.S.I. Tracks and Scat” program, and much more. All of that is to say: I’ve truly enjoyed my summer working with EE and I’d highly encourage anyone with a passion for the outdoors and education to join. Come work or volunteer for EE in the Rockies! You’ll be glad you did!
