Rings, Ripples, & Echoes

Thank you for your interest in participating in Parks as Classrooms. Unfortunately, we are not currently accepting applications.

Please check our website in mid-August for updated information on our application process for the 2025-2026 school year. For questions, please email [e-mail]

 

 

Overview

Grades K - 5

 

Sun rays beaming through the redwood forest.

NPS

Your students travel on a self-guided inquiry-based journey through Muir Woods and other natural communities along the Redwood Creek Watershed. They consider the interrelationships of the forest communities and understand the healthy patterns of a forest habitat. Together, they'll delve into the interconnected puzzle of forest communities and decipher the captivating patterns that embody a forest habitat.

Getting Ready for the Park Visit in Muir Woods National Monument

National Park Service staff will greet you and your class when you arrive at Muir Woods. Staff will conduct a 15-minute talk on the ecosystem in a special outdoor classroom. Also, you will be provided with resources to guide your class while learning in the woods. Groups, please fill out the education reservation request form for an educational visit.

Rings, Ripples, & Echoes uses the Understanding by Design framework, and aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core Standards.

• The K - 2nd grade Rings, Ripples, & Echoes Understanding by Design grid
• The 3rd - 4th grade Rings, Ripples, & Echoes Understanding by Design grid
• The 5th grade Rings, Ripples, & Echoes Understanding by Design grid

 

Students gaze at the redwoods.

NPS

Program Structure

Rings, Ripples, and Echoes is framed by an Essential Question:

K - 2^nd Grade: What do living things need to survive in their habitat?

3^rd - 4^th Grade: How do living things thrive in their habitat?

5^th Grade: How are our cultures influenced by where we live?

Rings, Ripples, & Echoes is structured in three parts:

1. Classroom preparation – lessons delivered by the teacher with resources provided by the park

2. Field session – the forest experience in which students investigate the forest, engage in scientific inquiry, and discuss cultural uses of the land. In-person field sessions are only offered Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays.

3. Classroom Assessment – opportunities for students to demonstrate what they have learned through writing stories, illustrated poems, or developing models based on evidence gleaned from plant identification cards, information on Coast Miwok land use, and their own forest visit.

How to Apply

Please check our website in mid-August for updated information on our application process for the 2025-2026 school year. For questions, please email [e-mail].

Please visit the Save the Redwoods League website to get more information on Redwood Forests.

Please note: Only buses under 30ft may take Muir Woods Road between Panoramic Highway and the Muir Woods National Monument entrance. Buses over 30ft but smaller than 35ft are allowed into the park only via Highway 1 by taking Muir Woods Road (also known as Frank Valley Road) from the west. No vehicles longer than 35ft are allowed according to the regulation of the California Highway Patrol (CHP)