Electronic Field Trips with the National Parks Foundation

This morning I was scrolling through Twitter and came across a website that @bethstill tweeted about.What a perfectly awesome resource. It is Electronic Field Trips with the National Park Foundation. I looked at the first video on "Climate Challenge North Cascades National Park". Jeff Corwin is the host, and there are several park rangers with students spread throughout North Cascades National Park talking about climate change and how it is affecting the everyone in and around the park. Some of the electronic field trips have companion websites that include games, activities, and lessons to go along with the video. As the students and park rangers talk about the climate and the affects felt throughout the park, definitions pop up on the screen and then students re-phrase the definition in words students might understand better.

Some of the field trips that have been shown in the past are "Discovering the Mysteries of Bryce Canyon"; "Buffalo Soldiers: African Americans in the Frontier Army"; "Searching for Life in the Great Smokey Mountains"; and "Tails from the Tetons: Grand Teton National Park". There are several more listed that might be of interest to your class.

There is a new electronic field trip coming in February, 2011, "Gulf Islands National Seashore" that you can register for. You have to create an account, but registration is free. By registering for this electronic field trip, you and your students can call in or email to ask questions about what you are watching. What a great learning experience! Be sure to check out all of the electronic field trips that the National Park Foundation is offering. Great information, great activities, and great lesson ideas: best of all, it is all free!