New River Gorge National River Prepares for 4th Grade Students Through Every Kid In a Park Initiative

Date: September 28, 2015
Contact: Angela Allison, 304-465-6508

Glen Jean, West Virginia – New River Gorge National River is preparing to welcome all regional 4^thgrade students to the Grandview area as part of the White House’s new Every Kid in a Park program. Originally slated to reach 1,000 4^thgrade students, the program now has 1,078 registered from Summers, Raleigh, Fayette and Nicholas Counties. The September 30^thevent will feature a live, one time performance by Theater West Virginia focused on the WV heritage stories of George Washington, Stonewall Jackson, Mary Draper Ingles and Devil Anse Hatfield. 

This free field trip was made possible through a National Park Foundation transportation grant with assistance from the Hinton Area Foundation and Theater West Virginia. It will feature a unique, live performance from the cast of Theater West Virginia as they depict characters in West Virginia history. Both before and after the performance, classes will rove through pop-up stations to learn more about our state’s heritage. Pop-up stations cover topics such as logging history, coal heritage and African American history with volunteers from the National Coal Heritage Area, John Henry Historical Society, WV Mine Wars Museum, Town of Thurmond and History Alive.

Starting September 1, 4^thgrade students can now go to www.everykidinapark.gov to complete an activity and obtain a free annual entry pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks. To receive their free pass for all national parks, fourth graders can visit the Every Kid in a Park website and play a game to access their special Every Kid in a Park pass. Fourth graders and their families can then use this pass for free entry into national parks and other federal public lands and waters across the country from September 1st, 2015 through August 31, 2016. The website also includes fun and engaging learning activities aligned to educational standards, trip planning tools, safety and packing tips and other important and helpful information for educators and parents.

In addition to providing every fourth grader in America a free entry pass for national parks and federal public lands and waters, fourth grade educators, youth group leaders and their students across the country will also participate in the program through field trips and other learning experiences.

The goal of the Every Kid in a Park program is to connect 4th graders with the great outdoors and inspire them to become future environmental stewards, ready to preserve and protect national parks and other public lands for years to come. The program is an important part of the National Park Service’s centennial celebration in 2016, which encourages everyone to Find Your Park.

Every Kid in a Park is an administrative-wide effort, launched by President Obama, and supported by eight federal agencies, including the National Park Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of Education, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.