National Parks Family Day 2010

News Release Date: May 7, 2010

Contact: Kimm Fox-Middleton, 360.816.6243

Contact: Aaron Ochoa, 360.816.6233

THIRD ANNUAL NORTHWEST NATIONAL PARK FAMILY DAY AT FORT VANCOUVER

WHAT: Northwest National Park Family Day

WHERE: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site Visitor Center, 1501 Evergreen Blvd. Vancouver, WA

WHEN: Saturday, May 15, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

EVENT DETAILS: FREE community event designed to introduce the national parks to everyone living in the Pacific Northwest. Families experience Fort Vancouver, Crater Lake, Lewis & Clark, Klondike Gold Rush, Mount Rainier, Nez Perce, North Cascades, and Olympic national park sites with a full day of hands-on fun and educational activities.

This year highlights increased involvement from the Portland/Vancouver metro area schools including;

Truman Elementary School: Kids in the Park Exhibit in the Visitor Center

Marshall Elementary School: Green Club Reuse and Recycle crafts table

Rosemary Anderson High School: Located in Portland, high school students will share their experience in studying environmental impacts on local streams, Salmon Watch, and more

The event features interactive presentations from Park Rangers including:

• Safety in the woods
• Hands-on introduction to hiking, snowshoeing, and camping in our national parks, including gear and food presentations
• Interactive programs about archaeology
• Learning about the fur trade and the rush to find gold
• Camping Past and Present
• Camp Cooking: Rustic or Gourmet?

Other presentations and activities include:

Wildlife in our national parks: live birds of prey from Wild with Raptors and native reptiles from Oregon Zoo's ZAP program

Children learn about conserving our natural resources with music from the entertaining band "Recycle Man and the Dumpster Divers"

COST: Free!