Public

Education

Kids interacting with a park ranger

“If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder…he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in.” – Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder

Curriculum - For Educators

Wilderness Investigations

Wilderness Investigations is a wilderness-focused curriculum that includes classroom, field, and family components. This place-based, standards-correlated curriculum includes hands-on activities and service learning opportunities. Topics are focused on key elements of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Wilderness Investigations is subject-integrated and geared mainly to grades 3-4, 5-8 and high school.

Jr. Ranger Activities

Wilderness Explorer Junior Ranger Program

Get wild about wilderness and become a Wilderness Explorer Junior Ranger! This activity booklet is designed for exploring wilderness, either at a federally-designated wilderness area or a wild place near your home. Activities are geared for ages 8 and up. Youth who complete the activity book can print out their own certificates using the template below.

Wilderness Coloring Book

Learn about the wildlife living in national wildlife refuge wilderness in the Into the Wilderness on National Wildlife Refuges Coloring Book.

Every Kid Outdoors

As part of the nation’s commitment to protect our nation’s unique outdoor spaces and ensure that every American has the opportunity to visit and enjoy them, an multi-agency team launched the “Every Kid in a Park” program, which is now "Every Kid Outdoors," to provide all fourth grade students and their families with free admission to national parks and other federal lands and waters for a full year starting every September 1.

For more information and to receive your fee pass, visit the Every Kid Outdoors website

Resources

Programs

Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program

The Outdoor Explorers Mentoring Program is an outdoor education program that provides monthly outdoor recreation and education experiences for underserved youth (associated with a local non-profit). Using program elements designed by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, a local college/university outdoor organization (mentors/planners) and a federal agency (program overseers), work with their non-profit partners to plan, promote, and facilitate meaningful and memorable outdoor experiences. This U.S. Forest Service sponsored program has a replication guide and promo video that can be used to start an outdoor mentoring program in your community.

Wilderness and Land Ethic Curriculum

The Wilderness and Land Ethic, for kindergarten-8th grade and 9th-12 grades, is the original wilderness-focused curriculum created by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center in 1994 (first edition) and 2003 (second edition). The goal of the program was to develop an awareness of the wilderness resource and its significance to our culture and society. 

Websites