Youth Programs

 

The White House and President's Park's youth programs offer young adults the chance to learn more about the national park system while being responsible stewards themselves. Youth may volunteer in the park in a number of positions that range from gardening to historic and cultural interpretation to assisting with major special events or gaining employment experience through summer programs like the Youth Conservation Corps. To learn more about these youth programs, contact us.

Volunteer Program

The White House and President's Park welcomes youth to volunteer in many areas of the park including interpretation and education as well as providing assistance with special events. For more information about current volunteer opportunities, please see the park's volunteer page.

 

Youth Multimedia Program

The Summer Youth Mulitmedia Program is a program for high school students with a passion for photography, videography, or journalism. Students will learn photography, vidoegraphy, journalism, photo editing skills, explore and learn about national parks, and have some of their best work exhibited in the White House Visitor Center. This program usually occurs in the summer. Please contact us to see if the program is running.

 

Girl Scouts Education Program

The National Park Service and Girl Scouts of the United States of America have partnered to create the Girl Scout Ranger Program. Girl Scout Ranger programs invite Girl Scouts to participate in educational and/or volunteer service projects at National Park Service sites. These activities spark their awareness of the national parks, providing scouts the opportunity to explore their national parks and learn more about protecting our natural and cultural resources. By participating in educational activities or volunteer service projects a Girl Scout can earn:

• The Girl Scout Ranger Certificate (5 hours)
• The Girl Scout Ranger Patch (10 hours)

Come visit The White House and President's Park to earn Girl Scout badges (e.g., Trees, Numbers in Nature, Gardening, Inside Government, and/or Finding Common Ground) with the National Park Service and also work towards your Girl Scout Ranger Patch! The program will last five hours, so troops will earn the Girl Scout Ranger Certificate on the day and be on their way to earning the Patch. Activities will include measuring and identifying different flowers and trees, learning about the White House gardens and Visitor Center, exploring a branch of government, and experiencing the outdoors in a National Park!

If you would like more information about this program, please email us.

 

"Adopt" the Boy Scout Memorial

Resource Stewardship Opportunity for Scouts

The Boy Scout Memorial is one of the few memorials in Washington, DC, that commemorates a living group or person. The memorial was dedicated on November 7, 1964 and underwent a major rehabilitation in 2009.

To earn a Scout Ranger certificate, Scouts should participate in organized education activities and/or volunteer service projects for a minimum of five (5) hours at one or more national parks. Once these hours are completed, download the Resource Stewardship Scout Ranger Certificate of Completion, which is based on the honor system.

In addition, to earn a Scout Ranger patch, certificate of completion, and letter of recognition, Scouts should participate in organized educational activities or volunteer service projects for a minimum of ten (10) hours at one or more national parks. Examples of qualifying organized educational programs include the following:

• Ranger-guided interpretive tours
• Junior Ranger programs

• Any other official NPS education program (campfire program, ranger-led hike, etc.)

To learn more please visit Scout Ranger Program - Youth & Young Adult Programs (U.S. National Park Service).

 

Summer Employment Program

The White House and President's Park has a longstanding youth employment program that offers paid summer employment opportunities for youth in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. This program usually occurs in the summer. Please contact us to see if the program is running.

While each summer youth program is different, in general, youth can expect to develop the following skills or competencies:

• Presentation skills: youth are frequently given the opportunity to develop and present programs or topics that are videotaped and critiqued by their peers
• Public speaking: youth staff will be expected to deliver public programs and to work with visitors to the park
• Multicultural soft skills: youth will interact with an extremely diverse visitor base that includes people from throughout the world and for whom English is not always their first language
• Teamwork: youth will need to work together to solve problems and to accomplish tasks

• Stewardship: youth will visit several national parks in the area to learn more about the ways that the National Park Service cares for and protects natural and cultural places throughout the United States