News Release

Chesterton High School Students Attempt World Record for Largest Field Trip at Indiana Dunes National Park

Date: September 6, 2019

Imagine 2,000 students and teachers deployed throughout the 15,000 acres of Indiana Dunes National Park with the purpose of studying, exploring, and volunteering. This is the is the plan for a second “Dunes Day” field trip, and if over 1,872 students participate, it will break the Guinness World Record for largest field trip in the world.
 
The purpose of Dunes Day 2019 is not just to break world records. Instead, the idea behind this massive school field trip is simply to get students outdoors to learn from nature and to celebrate that fact that Indiana Dunes is now the 61st national park. To that end, teams of teachers will be working alongside National Park Service staff and volunteers to lead various activities throughout the park. For example, five art teachers will work with NPS staff to create a natural sculpture on the beach, using found objects. Two science teachers and their students will work with a park resource manager to collect water samples and measure for dissolved oxygen, phosphorous and other indicators of water quality. The economics teachers will meet with tourism and park officials to look at the effects of tourism on the local economy. Approximately 45 groups of students will be dispersed throughout the entire park in this unique experiential project.
 
Brent Martinson, Chesterton High School principal, said, “We are very excited to partner with Indiana Dunes National Park to give our students a learning experience that goes beyond the traditional classroom setting. Our students and staff are excited to participate in this whole-school field trip and learn more about our unique area. Our goal is to foster a positive climate and culture that will impact the students at Chesterton High School for years to come.”
 
Dunes Day II is being supported in part by the National Park Service and many of its partners in collaboration with Chesterton High School and the Duneland School Corporation. The Duneland Chamber of Commerce is also supporting the event by organizing the teams of monitors to make sure the world record is accurately counted.
 
 “It is only through strong community partnerships that we are able to create such a positive experience for students, said Superintendent Dr. Chip Pettit. In collaboration with the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, Chesterton High School faculty, staff, and administration have done a wonderful job planning for this special event.”
 
For more information on this and other programs at Indiana Dunes National Park, contact the visitor center at 219-395-1882 or check out our website at www.nps.gov/indu.
 

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www.nps.gov

 
The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of 419 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.
 
Chesterton High School is a comprehensive public high school of 2085 students, that is 92 square miles and includes all of the Lake Michigan shore from Portage to Michigan City, Indiana.