Plan A Field Trip

Ranger-led education programs for the 2025-2026 school year will be accepting Education Reservation Request Forms as of August 26th, 2025. Teachers will be informed if their class was accepted to a program by September 26th, 2025. Field trips to the park will resume in late-October 2025 – early December 2025 (for returning classes) and Mid-January 2026-end of May 2026 (for all new and returning classes). Please keep in mind, new teachers are asked to participate in a teacher workshop to secure their program dates.

 

Educational Opportunities at Golden Gate National Recreations Area's Parks As Classrooms uses the Understanding by Design framework, and incorporates California Common Core Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies. Our inquiry-based park programs can be timed to introduce concepts, reinforce understanding, or stimulate culminating projects within a teaching unit. Programs are typically structured in three parts: a classroom preparation, a national park field session, and classroom assessments in which students demonstrate what they have learned. Teachers are provided with resources, including program curriculum and supporting materials.

The first step is to choose the program best suited for your class and follow the guidance below to submit an Education Reservation Request Form application.

 

How to participate in Parks as Classrooms education program

Please check our website in mid-August for updated information on our application process for the 2025-2026 school year.

Please email [e-mail] if you have any questions.

When completing the form, please consider the following:

• Education Programs are only offered Tuesday-Friday.

• Due to limited staffing at each park site, we ask that classes only apply to one of the program offerings throughout Golden Gate National Recreation Area: Muir Woods, Marin Headlands, Alcatraz, Fort Point, and Crissy Field. Program locations can ONLY accommodate 1 class per day.

• Ranger-led programs generally last 2-4 hours, not including driving or lunch time. Expect total time of field trips (travel to site, program, lunch) to be approximately 3-6 hours (see program website for approximate duration).

• Chaperones are expected to attend and support each program – 1 per 10 student ratio.

• New teachers are expected to attend a Teacher Workshop to be considered for a program – workshop dates will be announced on each program website.

 

Primary

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  Grades K - 5

  Rings, Ripples and Echoes

  Students navigate through the magical realms of the Redwood Creek Watershed of Muir Woods on a self-guided inquiry-based journey.

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  Grades K - 1

  Habitat Detectives

  How does a healthy habitat help living things thrive? Enchant curious young minds as they engage in an exciting habitat investigation.

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  Grades 3 - 4

  Into the Redwood Forest

  How can nature teach us about community? As naturalists, students explore Muir Woods, a rare sanctuary for ancient redwoods.

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  Grade 4

  Point of Inquiry

  How can buildings and artifacts help me to see the history of a place? Students take on the role of history detectives at Fort Point.

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  Grade 4

  Rock! Pattern! Systems!

  How can patterns of change help us understand geologic and human activity? Students explore the changing landscapes at Point Bonita.

 

Secondary

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  Grades 5 - 8

  Alcatraz Uncovered

  How can archeology deepen my understanding of a place? Students use archeological methods to uncover layers of history at Alcatraz Island.

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  Grade 6

  Living with the Land

  Students explore human relationships with the natural world from the perspectives of Ohlone Indigenous knowledge and western science.

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  Grades 6 - 8

  Rocks on the Move

  How do I recognize geologic change in my environment? Students consider how our communities adapt to climate change by investigating rocks.

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  Grade 8

  Faces of Fort Point

  How can historical inquiry reveal lost narratives? Students use historical sources to uncover hidden stories of Civil War-era Fort Point.

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  Grades 9 - 12

  Alcatraz Occupation: Power in Community

  What motivates a community to take civic action? Students focus on the 1969 –1971 American Indian Occupation on Alcatraz Island.

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  Grades 9 - 12

  Prisoners of Conscience

  What is the cost of resistance? Engage your students with the unknown history of the political prisoners of Alcatraz.

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  Grades 11 - 12

  Nuclear Reactions

  What does safety look like? Students explore the Nike missile site that operated in the Marin Headlands during the 1950s until 1974.

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  Grade 11-12

  Forests for the Future

  Explore how redwoods and communities can mitigate environmental changes through a blend of inquiry science and cultural history.