August 25 is Founders Day - Visit Your National Park

Date: August 20, 2013
Contact: Outer Banks Group, 252-475-9034

Sunday, August 25, 2013 is National Park Service Founders Day and Superintendent Barclay Trimble invites the public to experience their national parks here on the Outer Banks.The day will be a "fee free" day at Wright Brothers National Memorial.

"We invite everyone to join us at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Monument, to help us celebrate this special day" stated Superintendent Trimble. "In addition to special programs offered visitors can climb the treasured light house of Hatteras and Bodie Islands, explore and speculate about the famed Lost Colony, and participate in a kite-building demonstration, at the respective parks. We look forward to sharing this special day with the many Outer Banks visitors and local families."

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, creating the National Park Service.Founders Day is celebrated each year on August 25 in all of America's national parks to honor the creation of the agency.

Special Founder Day programs being offered include:

·Meanings of the National Park Service – The parks of the Outer Banks Group are part of a vast network of sites protecting our natural and cultural heritage from coast to coast. Join a ranger to explore the meanings of the National Park Service as we look back nearly a century from its founding, and as we look forward into its future. 10:30 am at both the Wright Brothers and the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Visitor Centers.At Cape Hatteras National Seashore: 2 pm at the Ocracoke Island Visitor Center, 2 pm at the Bodie Island Lighthouse pond trail platform, and 12 and 4 pm at the Hatteras Island Visitor Center. (25 min)

·Your First National Seashore Beach Walk – Cape Hatteras, founded in 1953, is our nation's first national seashore. It has a unique role in the preservation and protection of a set of islands that are both geologically dynamic and ecologically unique. Join a ranger for a walk along the beach to explore what it means to be the first national seashore and catch a glimpse of some of the natural wonders the park is charged to protect: 9:30 am at the Ocracoke Island beach parking lot across from the Pony Pens, 10 am at the Hatteras Island old lighthouse site, and 11 am on Bodie Island at the Coquina Beach bathhouse. (1 hr)

·Build Your Own Arrowhead - The National Park Service arrowhead has unique symbolism related to the agency's mission. Kids are invited come and build their own arrowhead with special significance. 11 am at the Hatteras Island Visitor Center Pavilion and 3 pm at the Ocracoke Island Visitor Center. (30 min)

Kids can also earn Junior Ranger badges by completing a workbook and attending programs at each of the three parks. Just go to the visitor center and pick up a Junior Ranger booklet to get started.Children who cannot visit a national park site in person are invited to take part in the national "WebRangers" activities at www.nps.gov/webrangers.

For a fun and free way to learn more about the National Park Service on Founders Day, you can take a free on-line course titled Introduction to the National Park Service: Its History and Mission.This 30-40 minute course is designed for anyone who has an interest in the agency and can be accessed at http://eppley.org/elearning/free.Completion of this course can provide teachers with 0.12 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits.

The National Park System has been described as "the best idea America ever had."National parks preserve majestic natural wonders.They keep watch over valued sites and artifacts of our American culture.National park sites offer recreation and discovery in some of the most unique areas of our country's landscape.

The National Park Service is preparing for its 100^th anniversary to take place in 2016, as the nation will celebrate a century of preservation of these special places and look towards another century of stewardship and relevance.

While entrance fees for passengers in both private and commercial vehicles will be waived, recreation "user fees" such as permit fees, camping fees and lighthouse climbing fees are not waived under this program.For general information on the Outer Banks Group national park sites, visit www.nps.gov/caha, www.nps.gov/fora, www.nps.gov/wrbr; Twitter@CapeHatterasNPS, @WrightBrosNPS, @FortRaleighNPS; or call 252-473-2111.

-NPS-