Staff Reports

At least three national parks nationwide will become outdoor classrooms, focusing on educating its visitors about water by the end of the year, the National Park Service said today.

It’s part of a new partnership between the National Park Service and an award-winning group called Project WET.

“Discover the Waters of Our National Parks” will kick off in three to six parks by the end of this year. The parks have yet to be announced.

Project WET or the Water Education for Teachers Foundation will help the parks implement hands-on, science-based activities focused on one of the most importance natural resources, according to the Park Service.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said “there’s a water story to be told in most of the 394 parks in the national park system and we’ve joined with the Project WET Foundation to carry those stories to a worldwide audience of students and educators.”

National Park Service interpretive park rangers and Project WET staff will teach through an educational package that includes videos, special workshops, seminars and online courses, children’s activity booklets, educator guides, posters, a web portal and other hands-on, investigative, science-based materials that meet local, state and national curriculum standards.

Local teachers, researchers and water experts will have a hand in developing all of those materials, according to the park service.

In a statement, Project WET President & CEO Dennis Nelson said: “Water connects our national parks to each other and to the people of the United States through the water cycle, making national parks a perfect springboard for educating people about water.”