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Free Parks for 4th Graders and their families

August 25, 2016

Did you know that you own millions of acres of national parks, historic structures, cultural artifacts, ancient forests, snow-capped mountains, and clear blue lakes? Our public lands and waters belong to all Americans and are waiting for you to explore them! You can get your Every Kid in a Park pass at www.everykidinapark.gov, the official website where parents, teachers, and kids can learn more.

To help engage and create our next generation of park visitors, supporters and advocates, the White House, in partnership with the Federal Land Management agencies, launched the Every Kid in a Park initiative. The immediate goal is to provide an opportunity for each and every 4th grade student across the country to experience their public lands and waters in person throughout the 2015-2016 school year.

Beginning September 1st all kids in the fourth grade have access to their own Every Kid in a Park pass at www.everykidinapark.gov. This pass provides free access to national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and more!

The Every Kid in a Park pass is good for the 2015-2016 school year, until August 31, 2016. Information on obtaining the pass is available by visiting everykidinapark.gov.

In support of Every Kid in a Park, the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, is raising funds to help connect fourth graders to America’s public lands and waters through transportation grants. As part of the Foundation’s Open OutDoors for Kids program, the Every Kid in a Park transportation grants seek to remove barriers to accessing our nation’s public lands and waters, with a special focus on underserved and urban communities. With cutbacks in school funding for field trips, this strategic funding will help provide comprehensive access to all federal sites, including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and public lands and waters. Transportation grants are available to the federal agencies participating in the program which include the National Park Service, Forest Service, Department of Education, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.