Martin Luther King Holiday Celebration at National Lakeshore

Date: January 8, 2013
Contact: Julie Larsen, 219-395-1821

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: Celebrate and honor the service and commitment of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Paul H. Douglas Center on Saturday, January 19. A variety of hands-on activities, service opportunities, and exhibits will be available for families to enjoy throughout the day.

At 2:00 pm, join park ranger Cliff Goins as he leads an armchair tour of National Park Service sites that celebrate the civil rights movement. These include the Chicago Portage Naval Magazine National Memorial, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, and the Tuskegee Airmen, Brown vs. Board of Education, and Central High School National Historic Sites.

In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., take part in a stewardship activity during the day. Choose between an indoor activity of preparing seeds for spring planting or an outdoor activity of cutting invasive honeysuckle near the center. As always, visitors can make a free craft, enjoy the hands-on exhibits or help feed the Douglas Center's resident reptiles and fish. In addition, snowshoes and cross-country skis are available for free checkout between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm every Saturday when there is at least two inches of snow.

From January 19 through February 28, the Douglas Center will also feature exhibits from a variety of National Park Service sites that honor the civil rights movement. The center is located at 100 North Lake Street in the Miller section of Gary. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, call the center's information desk at 219-395-1821 or check the park website at www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit.

 www.nps.gov
 
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of 398 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore includes 15 miles of the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan and 15,000 acres of beach, woods, marshes, and prairie in the northwest corner of Indiana. More than 2 million visitors come to this national park each year. More information can be found at www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit or contact our information desk at 219- 395-1882.