National Park Week -- Partners Toolkit

children running along a plank walkway entering a fort

National Park Week 2024 will take place April 20-28.

During National Park Week -- April 20 through April 28 -- we invite our partners to help us...

  • Highlight people, places, and stories related to parks and programs.
  • Plan in-person and/or virtual activities, social media posts, or digital content that highlight the work we all to together in parks and communities.

Did You Know?

The first National Park Week occurred in 1991 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NPS. The next National Park Week was held in 1994 and it has been an annual event ever since. National Park Week is now an annual presidentially proclaimed celebration to encourage people to discover places, programs, experiences, and stories of the NPS.

National Park Week emphasizes the role of the NPS and our partners as stewards of America’s extraordinary places and provides opportunities for people from all backgrounds to form and strengthen their relationships to these places.

Ways for Partners to Engage

  • Plan “signature” events (virtual or in-person) with your partner park.

  • Publicize activities (tours, demonstrations, etc.) that take place from April 20 through 28 as National Park Week events and brand them with National Park Week and Find Your Park.

  • Share what (and your partner park) you are doing in social media—use the hashtag: #NationalParkWeek!

Theme Days

Explore ways to engage in the National Park Week 2024 theme days. These are a few ideas, but the opportunities are unlimited!

Discovery Ideas 

  • Share info about the Free Entrance Day.  

  • Invite people to discover something new about your partner park or program. 

  • Amplify lesser-known sites or activities in parks. 

  • Highlight partnerships that help introduce people to the NPS.  

  • Share stories about lesser-known places and people related to your partner park or program.  

  • Work with your partner park to host a family-friendly program that invites kids to discover something new there. 

  • Help introduce people to a fun, new activity that they might be interested in but never had the chance to try (campfire cooking, knot making, spelunking, etc.).  

Volunteer Ideas 

  • This year NPW coincides with National Volunteer Week, which is April 21-27.  

  • Use the focus on service to recruit new volunteers to support your partner park, host service events, and celebrate your volunteers and their impact.  

  • Highlight your amazing volunteers! You can use the theme #MyParkStory to share place-based volunteer stories in social media. 

  • Work with your partner park to host a volunteer or citizen science event. Invite visitors to join a volunteer event in your partner park.  

Earth Day Ideas 

  • Invite people to become involved as stewards or to experience the nature in parks and communities.  

  • Ask staff and the public to share meaningful connections nature or stewardship.  

  • Highlight sustainability efforts and science-based actions at parks in response to climate change.  

  • Highlight recovery efforts related to wildfire, endangered species, severe weather impacts, etc.  

  • Highlight Citizen Science volunteers and their efforts. 

  • Motivate people to use Leave No Trace and Recreate Responsibly principles.  

Innovation Ideas 

  • Highlight the inventors, artists, and other notable people commemorated in parks and how their ingenuity influenced our national story. 

  • Honor the contributions of Indigenous people and share their traditional ecological knowledge about your partner park and local area. 

  • Celebrate innovative accomplishments, including conservation, education, preservation, accessibility, and infrastructure enhancements.  

  • Showcase transportation innovation in parks, including electric vehicle charging stations and shuttles.  

  • Share information about infrastructure projects. What were or are the obstacles being overcome to build or rehab a facility, structure, or landscape? How do engineers work to blend tunnels, bridges, and facilities into the existing landscape and how do they overcome accompanying challenges?   

  • Emphasize preservation efforts taking place in parks.  

  • Amplify the work of the Historic Preservation Maintenance Teams and how they use traditional methods to rehab park structures and features.  

  • Highlight construction achievements like how did this tunnel, aqueduct, bridge, water system, structure (even bathroom) get built (sometimes in hard-to-reach places)?  

Workforce Wednesday Ideas  

  • It’s #WorkforceWednesday, a great time to highlight NPS and partner staff, interns, and volunteers and their stories and favorite experiences. 

  • Highlight those who contribute to the success of your partner park, program, or office.   

  • Showcase the work of interns and the programs that support them, including the paid Youth Conservation Corps Program, Community Volunteer Ambassador Program, Scientists-In-Parks Program, Traditional Trades Apprenticeship Program, and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program.  

  • Help us emphasize NPS-related career opportunities, including those offered by concessions, cooperating associations, and youth and young adult programs.  

  • Be inspired by stories from NPS and partner employees about their favorite park views in the Enjoy the View Like Us! web series. Have your own favorite view? Post about it with the #NationalParkWeek hashtag! 

Youth Engagement Ideas  

  • Highlight youth and young adult programs and the impact and contributions of their participants to national parks and communities. 

  • Share profiles of youth and young adult program participants and spotlight their accomplishments. 

  • Share profiles of NPS and partner employees who were former youth or young adult program participants.  

  • Share information about partnerships and projects with youth serving organizations, including Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, YMCA, Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and 4-H. 

  • Share youth and young adult internship, fellowship, service corps, and volunteer opportunities . If posting on social media, please tag @NPSYouth and use #NPS Youth and #NPSYoung Adults.  

  • Share information about educational programs, lesson plans, events, and Junior Ranger programs available in your partner park, program or office.  

  • Work with your partner park or program to create a video or reel of youth or young adults in action to share in social media.

Community Connections Ideas  

  • Highlight accomplishments achieved through work you do with your partner park, other agencies, organizations, and communities.  

  • Recognize other NPS partners, communities, stakeholders, volunteers, and visitors. 

  • Highlight inspirational figures associated with parks or programs. 

  • Help your partner park distribute passes at a nearby military installation.   

  • Highlight grant programs that help state, local governments, organizations and communities preserve historic and culture resources, including Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, HBCU, American Battlefield Protection Program, African American Civil Rights Grants, Save America’s Treasures Grant, and Tribal Heritage programs.  

  • Highlight community-based programs that recognize and help community preservation efforts, including the National Register of Historic Places, National Historical Landmark, and preservation tax credit programs.   

  • Share updates from academic and research partnerships that continue to diversify historical knowledge and active storytelling throughout the NPS.  

Junior Ranger Day Ideas 

  • Celebrate National Junior Ranger Day and invite young people to complete fun and educational activities and earn a badge. 

  • Encourage participation in online Junior Ranger programs (paleontology, night explorer, etc).  

  • Invite people to participate in your partner park’s Junior Ranger program. 

  • Share photos of junior rangers enjoying your park. 

Arts in Parks Ideas  

  • Share art forms such as poetry, photography, painting that have been inspired by NPS people, places or stories. 

  • Highlight the Artist in Residence programs and the art they generate. 

  • Work with your partner park to host an art-centered visitor program. 

  • Highlight the Poetry in Parks program. 

  • Explore how the use of art helps to tell stories in your partner park or community, including by people throughout the history of your special places. 

  • Tell stories about artistic crafts associated with your park or community. 

Last updated: April 3, 2024

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