|
You are viewing ARCHIVED content published online before January 20, 2025.
Please note that this content is NOT UPDATED, and links may not work. For current information,
visit https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/index.htm.
Contact: Nicole Brown $230,000 Grant Connects 30,000 Students with National Parks Across the Country Washington, D.C.- Responding to an overwhelming need for transportation and educational programming funding from parks and schools nationwide, the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks, created the Ticket To Ride program. . With support from Disney, Ticket to Ride provides financial resources for transportation, in-park educational programming, and meals that make national park field trips possible for schools across the country.This year, WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument was selected to receive a Ticket to Ride grant in order to bring over 700 fifth grade students from underserved areas of Oahu to the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center.Nationwide, over $230,000 in Ticket to Ride grants have made it possible for more than 30,000 students to experience their local national parks this fall. The students are participating a three-part program titled "Let's Talk (Hi)story," focused on exploring personal connections to history and national parks. This exciting program began with ranger-led visits to each of the eight participating schools in September, featuring story-telling from NPS volunteer Jimmy Lee. Lee was in the fifth grade when he witnessed the December 7, 1941 attack. In October and November, students from 32 classrooms visited Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial, most for the first time. Through participating in this program, students have forged new connections and been inspired to explore the more personal side of history - not only through their local national park, but through a special oral history project they will complete with their own social networks at home. "Providing the means for America's youth to experience all that our national park system has to offer is imperative," said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. "The Ticket to Ride program makes it possible for us to engage the younger generation through the parks' unique natural, cultural and historical classrooms, ultimately fostering an early love and appreciation for these important places." In addition to WWII Valor in the Pacific National Monument, the Fall 2012 Ticket to Ride grantees include: Assateague Island National Seashore Assateague Island National Seashore Boston National Historical Park Buck Island Reef National Monument Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Craters of the Moon National Monument and National Preserve Devils Postpile National Monument Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park Homestead National Monument of America Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Moores Creek National Battlefield National Mall and Memorial Parks New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail River Raisin National Battlefield Park San Juan Island National Historical Park Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Stones River National Battlefield Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts For many students, the Ticket to Ride field trip was their first visit to a national park.Recognizing that once in the parks, a world of experiential learning opens up, the National Park Foundation and the National Park Service are dedicated to providing this critical access to the parks. Through these field trips, young people discover their natural, cultural and historical heritage, participate in volunteer and service-learning activities, enjoy recreational opportunities, and most importantly, begin a lifelong relationship with their national parks. For more information about the Ticket to Ride program, our corporate partners and ways to support this and the other exceptional National Park Foundation programs, go to www.nationalparks.org. ### ABOUT WORLD WAR II VALOR IN THE PACIFIC NATIONAL MONUMENT One of nearly 400 units in the National Park Service, World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument preserves and interprets the stories of the Pacific War, including the events at Pearl Harbor, the internment of Japanese Americans, the battles in the Aleutians, and the occupation of Japan. This year, over 1.7 million individuals will visit the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center, making it the largest visitor destination in Hawaii. Learn more at www.nps.gov/valr. ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION You are the owner of 84 million acres of the world's most treasured memorials, landscapes, ecosystems, and historic sites -- all protected in America's nearly 400 national parks. Chartered by Congress, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America's national parks. We work hand in hand with the National Park Service to connect you and all Americans to the parks, and to make sure that they are preserved for the generations who will follow. Join us in supporting your national parks -- this is your land. www.nationalparks.org. |
Last updated: March 1, 2015