America鈥檚 national parks have been called the country鈥檚 鈥渓argest classroom,鈥� in part because they provide millions of hours in free educational programming every year.
The National Park Service has worked to encourage 鈥渆xperiential learning鈥� through the creation of hundreds of lesson plans, virtual resources for schools, and professional development for teachers. Their 鈥減lace based鈥� learning programs鈥攊n subjects such as ecology, history, and geology鈥攈ave academic, developmental, and health benefits.
Sustaining such programming takes on greater importance, parks advocates say, in the midst of ongoing funding challenges and a need to draw more and more diverse visitors to parks facilities and programs.
In this PBS NewsHour segment, Education Week correspondent Kavitha Cardoza reports from the Golden Gate National Recreation Area near San Francisco.
This video aired on PBS NewsHour on November 22, 2016.
