Great Basin National Park Foundation

Students from David E Norman Elementary School tour Lehman Caves on a Foundation sponsored field trip.

David E Norman Elementary.

An Invaluable Partner

Great Basin National Park Foundation (the Foundation) is the official non-profit partner of Great Basin National Park. The Foundation’s mission is to enhance, preserve, and interpret the starry night skies, wide-open scenery, cultural heritage, and diverse native ecosystems of Great Basin National Park.

The Foundation was established in 1998 by Bonnie Bryan, wife of Senator Richard H. Bryan. As our official national nonprofit partner, the Foundation seeks to generate private support, build strategic partnerships, and deliver programs that enhance, preserve, and protect Great Basin National Park and the Great Basin region. To date, the Foundation has raised over three million dollars to support park projects and programs.

 

Education

The Foundation strives to cultivate the next generation of Great Basin stewards through a variety of educational programs. For schools located in the counties surrounding Great Basin National Park, the Foundation leads classroom programs and field trips. For schools across the country, the Foundation offers a library of lesson plans as well as virtual programs.

The Foundation is working to bring the park to youth and youth to the park - helping students and their families enjoy, understand, and connect with the science and natural history of the Great Basin. Visit the Educational Programs page of the Foundation’s website to request a presentation, find a lesson plan, and more.

 

A ranger shows a visitor how to use a solar scope.

Michael Okimoto

Astronomy & the Great Basin Observatory

Eighty percent of Americans cannot see the Milky Way from where they live because of light polluted skies. The Foundation supports Great Basin National Park’s Dark Sky Initiative and International Dark Sky Park status by purchasing park telescopes, funding specialized park astronomy interns and supporting park astronomy programs, such as the Astronomy Festival and the Star Train.

The Foundation funded and constructed the first-ever research-grade observatory in a U.S. National Park in 2016, during the NPS centennial. The Foundation manages the Great Basin Observatory, which is remotely controlled, in partnership with several universities, enabling middle-school, high-school, and college students to conduct astronomical research from our incredibly dark skies.

 

Conservation, Preservation, and Park Visitor Experience

The Foundation helps the park in its mission to “to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” From supporting park infrastructure, to science, to artist-in-residence programs, to park visitor experience, and more, the Foundation provides a pathway of philanthropic support for Great Basin National Park.

Visit Great Basin National Park Foundation’s website to learn more. You can also follow them on Facebook and Instagram.