Outdoor Learning Experiences

Images of children engaging in outdoor educational activities, including marine science experiments, tree examinations, and planting trees for environmental education.

School children examining annual rings of a tree trunk

Teachers, students, and parents learning about the Water Cycle during the Every Kid Outdoors, Paddle Your Parks program at the Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary outdoor amphitheater. The staff at Riverlands have partnered with the Nature Institute to host the Every Kid Outdoor program for seven years. The Every Kid Outdoors program was launched in 2015, during the National Park Service (NPS) centennial, as a way to increase access to parks and other public lands.

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

U.S. Air Force Col. William Hunter, 81st Training Wing commander, and children from the Keesler Child Development Center view hand painted stones they made for the Arbor Day Celebration at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, April 28, 2022. A tree planting ceremony and a Tree City USA flag presentation also took place at the event.

Abigail Lust, a social work intern from Campbellsville University, laughs and encourages military children during the Child Abuse Prevention Month pinwheel planting and fellowship that she coordinated for Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital April 4 at the Joint Readiness Training Center and Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Subjects: Acorns; Red Lake Falls Schools; Rydell NWR; Planting. . 1998 - 2011.

Tornado - Auburn, Ala. , September 2, 2011 - Auburn University students assemble the foundation for a FEMA DAWG HAUS. The DAWG HAUS or Disaster Avoidance With Good Home Attenuating-Unionization System is a wind-resistant techniques of building. After an outbreak of tornados swept through Alabama in April, Auburn's Integrated Design and Construction students have an opportunity to exchange ideas with FEMA's mitigation team. The university hopes the students will integrate these concepts in future projects, designing and building a safer world. FEMA Photo/Ruth Kennedy. New York Hurricane Irene. Photographs Relating to Disasters and Emergency Management Programs, Activities, and Officials

Children - pond dipping

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Yosemite National Park, California, where he joined National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Yosemite staff in leading classroom activities at the Yosemite Valley School, followed by Park touring with the students

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Yosemite National Park, California, where he joined National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Yosemite staff in leading classroom activities at the Yosemite Valley School, followed by Park touring with the students

Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway - Educational Opportunites Along the Byway. Intrinsic qualities along the byway can continue to be preserved and enhanced through stewardship and education. Providing children with knowledge about conservation will help them understand the importance and true value of our resources. Location: (42.868° N 122.168° W)

Girl searching for fossils behind Wheeler High School at the only public fossil field in the united states located at Fossil, Oregon, USA.

Boy Scouts canoeing on the Bowron Lakes circuit. Bowron Lakes Provincial Park. Quesnel, British Columbia

2017 Student Launch activities at the Bragg Farm in Toney, Alabama

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Yosemite National Park, California, where he joined National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Yosemite staff in leading classroom activities at the Yosemite Valley School, followed by Park touring with the students

Activities at the National Park Service (NPS)-sponsored National Junior Ranger Day on the National Mall, Washington, D.C., with Secretary Dirk Kempthorne joining NPS officials, volunteers, D.C. area schoolchildren and their families on hand

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Lara Armstrong, chief, Field Artillery Half Section, asks the children enrolled in the YMCA Summer Day Camp, ages 8 and 9, why they think all the horses are the same color. There were some good guesses but the right answer was the bay (brown) color blends in better than other horse colors therefore they are harder to make a target.

After eight months of designing, building and testing, the middle school, high school and college and university teams launched their rockets as part of NASA Student Launch on Sunday, April 8. The rockets and their payloads are designed to fly to 1-mile in altitude before deploying recovery systems that brings them safely to the ground.

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Yosemite National Park, California, where he joined National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Yosemite staff in leading classroom activities at the Yosemite Valley School, followed by Park touring with the students

Archaeologist Bill Thompson with the Colorado State Universitys (CSU) Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands who works in partnership with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch (NRB) looks over artifacts found during an archaeological survey July 14, 2022, on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. For several weeks in July, Fort McCoy archaeological team members with NRB and CSU held a special archaeological survey and dig on South Post. The team did their survey in the South Post Housing Area, which also happens to be the oldest areas of the installations origins where Camp Robinson and Camp Emery-Upton once were located. In the actual location of the survey, however, the team was looking at areas around old concrete tent pads that were once part of Camp Robinson.

Activities at the National Park Service (NPS)-sponsored National Junior Ranger Day on the National Mall, Washington, D.C., with Secretary Dirk Kempthorne joining NPS officials, volunteers, D.C. area schoolchildren and their families on hand

School children watching pottery wheel demonstration at the open-air Archeosite and Museum of Aubechies-Beloeil, Hainaut, Belgium, Europe

Visitors at the Archaeological State Museum, Archaeological, Constance, Lake Constance, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany, Europe

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - SMITHSONIAN SUMMER CAMP

220516-N-LY580-1011 ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (May 16, 2022) Benjamin Russell High School Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Cadets (front-back) Dylan Pham, Deandrea Salter, Tyler Sims and Jermaine Floyd develop teamwork through an exercise using wooden boards to move from station-to-station.

Granada, Colorado, The University of Denver Archaeology Field School at the World War 2 Amache Japanese internment camp. Camp survivors and descendants joined students in researching the camp's history. Victoria Wigal, 17, whose grandfather was interned at the camp, takes notes on the excavation of a pond built by the residents. More than 7,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans were held at the site, one of 10 internment camps in the American west.

Children try drawing different types of waterfowl at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. Subjects: Birdwatching; Birds; Children; Education; Education outreach; Events; Recreation; Work of the Service. Location: Pennsylvania. Fish and Wildlife Service Site: JOHN HEINZ NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE AT TINICUM.

Young hiker mother and son with backpacks camping in the woods, looking at an old map with a compass. hiking in nature,

students photograph

Student Kanisha Allen interviews biologist Roy Averill-Murray for a short film she is working on about desert tortoise recovery. Subjects: Employees (USFWS); Youth; Connecting people with nature; Videography. Location: California.

School children listening to sculptors at work, Yesemek Sculpture Project, Gaziantep, Turkey

FRA - SUMMER QUARTERS. Festival eco-citizen half-way between world music and urban cultures brings together in the evening young talents and renowned artists. Designed for and by young people staying in Rennes during the summer, it allows them from 2 pm to share free activities, sports or cultural, committed and soothing. Here, everyone writes his definition of happiness on a sign.FRA - QUARTIERS D'ÉTÉ. Festival éco-citoyen à mi-chemin entre musiques du monde et cultures urbaines rassemble en soirée de jeunes talents et des artistes de renom. Conçu pour et par les jeunes restant à Rennes durant lété, il leur permet dès 14h de partager des activités gratuites, sportives ou culturelles, engagées et apaisantes. Ici, chacun écrit sa définition du bonheur sur un panneau.

120426-N-SF508-409 QUANTICO, Va. (April 26, 2012) Personnel from Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and their children view a Marine Corps working dog demonstration during the Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day observance at NCIS headquarters. More than 120 children from the ages of 8 to 18 learned about the mission of NCIS and what their parents do for the Navy and Marines Corps.

Chee Xiong, an Oregon State University STEP student, prepares tags for steelhead on Eagle Creek. Biologists use this tracking information to see if the hatchery fish that are spawning here are affecting the survival and productivity of the wild fish. Subjects: Fish hatcheries; Fisheries management; Fishes; Biologists (USFWS); Employees (USFWS); Work of the Service; Tagging; Threatened species; Monitoring; service patch. Location: Oregon. Fish and Wildlife Service Site: EAGLE CREEK NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY.

A student looking at maps in the Missouri Climate Center at the University of Missouri - Columbia.

2016 Pre-Departure Orientation for Fellows and Visiting Scholars, Cohort 2016 in Dalat and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Records of Scholarship and Fellowship Granting Foundations, Agency Officials and Events.

Teacher talking to students in kayaks

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Edisto Island National Scenic Byway - Edisto State Park Interpretive Center. Visitors learn about the Edisto State Park from a park ranger at the Edisto Beach State Park Interpretive Center, which has talks, activities and outings that introduce visitors to the internationally-known ACE Basin. Visitors can learn about this fragile ecosystem through hands-on exhibits, touch tanks containing live sea creatures, and nature walks. Location: Edisto Beach State Park, South Carolina (32.508° N 80.306° W)

The children are wondering what is in the bag during U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service presentation at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Subjects: Buildings, facilities and structures; Celebrations; Children; Connecting people with nature; Education; Education outreach; Emblems; Employees (USFWS); Environmental education; Events; Exhibitions; Interpretation; Public access; Recreation; Service patch. Location: Florida. Fish and Wildlife Service Site: ST. MARKS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to the Tuba City Boarding School on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona--largest school in the Bureau of Indian Education system. Joining Secretary Kempthorne for the tour of new buildings and classrooms, and for discussions with students, teachers, and parents, were education officials including Bureau of Indian Education Director Kevin Skenandore, Indian Affairs Office of Facilities, Environmental and Cultural Resources Director Jack Rever, Tuba City Boarding School Principal Don Coffland, and Tuba City School Governing Board President Frieda Maloney.

U.S. Faculty Scholar, Dr. Lee MacDonald, Providing Training in Hydrology for the Vietnam Forestry University in Hanoi, Vietnam. Records of Scholarship and Fellowship Granting Foundations, Agency Officials and Events.

After eight months of designing, building and testing, the middle school, high school and college and university teams launched their rockets as part of NASA Student Launch on Sunday, April 8. The rockets and their payloads are designed to fly to 1-mile in altitude before deploying recovery systems that brings them safely to the ground.

Children and siblings of Louisiana Soldiers and Airmen spend five days attending the fun, military-style summer camp, Camp Pelican Pride, at the Feliciana Retreat and Conference Center in Norwood, La., going through different tracks, such as marching, rock wall climbing, fishing and paddling, and resilience and medical preparedness training from June 27-July 1, 2022. The annual LANG military kids camp, often called Kids AT, began in 1997 and allows youth to build relationships with other children who understand experiences that are unique to children of service members, both deployed and stateside.

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

NA, USA, Oregon, Ft. Clatsop NHS. Visitors working with quills and ink writing

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Yosemite National Park, California, where he joined National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Yosemite staff in leading classroom activities at the Yosemite Valley School, followed by Park touring with the students

Japan, Kanazawa, shogi players

Children studying natural history during a class field trip, table covered in leaves, twigs and fruit collected from trees, Walcheren, Zeeland, Netherlands, Europe

Operation Junior Expeditionary Team (OpJET), June 17, 2022, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. OpJET provides children the opportunity to see a mock deployment and gives them an idea what their parent experiences when they report for duty away from home, as well as the process when they return.

110721-N-VO219-002DETROIT (July 21, 2011) Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuel) 2nd Class Carl Tramel, a recruiter assigned to Navy Recruiting District Michigan, volunteers at the Detroit City Camp, a summer camp for local youth, during Detroit Navy Week 2011. Detroit Navy Week is one of 21 Navy Weeks this year across the country. Navy Weeks are intended to showcase the investment Americans have made in their Navy and increase awareness in cities that do not have a significant Navy presence.

A close up of two pairs of hands using a map and compass as tools for land navigation. Team members at the 76th Rescue Flight 1995 Rescue Symposium received classroom instruction, and also had the opportunity to practice what they learned. Base: Vandenberg Air Force Base State: California (CA) Country: United States Of America (USA)

220517-N-LY580-1005 ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. (May 17, 2022) Benjamin Russell High School Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps Cadets Gizell Diaz (right) and JhMyia Thomas use boards to move from station-to-station during a teamwork exercise.

After eight months of designing, building and testing, the middle school, high school and college and university teams launched their rockets as part of NASA Student Launch on Sunday, April 8. The rockets and their payloads are designed to fly to 1-mile in altitude before deploying recovery systems that brings them safely to the ground.

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Children of the members of the 120th Airlift Wing go Easter egg hunting, April 1st 2023 at the Montana Air National Guard Base, Great Falls, Montana. Events like the Easter egg hunt build an inclusive environment for military members, families and civilians.

Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge visitors gather for a presentation about the Red wolf, endangered species. Subjects: Adults; Artifacts; Captive breeding; Celebrations; Children; Connecting people with nature; Crafts; Education; Education outreach; Emblems; Employees (USFWS); Endangered species; Environmental education; Habitat conservation; History; Illustrations; Inter. Location: North Carolina. Fish and Wildlife Service Site: ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

After eight months of designing, building and testing, the middle school, high school and college and university teams launched their rockets as part of NASA Student Launch on Sunday, April 8. The rockets and their payloads are designed to fly to 1-mile in altitude before deploying recovery systems that brings them safely to the ground.

Shaun Masavage, a volunteer with the University of California, San Diego Pre-Dental Society, paints a window during an engineering civic action event at O. Tres Chas Primary School in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on June 24, 2010. The Military Sealift Command hospital ship, USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), is in Cambodia in support of Pacific Partnership 2010.

Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center students and other participants pose for a group photo during a DLIFLC Spiritual Resiliency Hike at Point Lobos Natural Preserve, Carmel-By-The-Sea, Calif., Aug. 20.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - SMITHSONIAN SUMMER CAMP

This boy looks like a firefighter already, as he practices putting out the fire. Subjects: Adults; Children; Connecting people with nature; Education; Education outreach; Environmental education; Interpretation; Leisure activities; Public access; Recreation; Teens; Vegetation; Visitor services; Wildlife refuges; Work of the Service; Youth; Fire. Location: Louisiana. Fish and Wildlife Service Site: BIG BRANCH MARSH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

Teacher showing class how to weigh bird captured for banding by using scales and placing bird in paper bag; image taken during

Educational progamme at Midway Atoll

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Photo essay in a French Medico-Educational Institute. This institute takes care of 26 autistic teenagers.

Visit of Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to Yosemite National Park, California, where he joined National Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Yosemite staff in leading classroom activities at the Yosemite Valley School, followed by Park touring with the students

happy childrens boy with soccer ball and little girl learning about the world using globe of earth while standing in front of black chalkboard

Teacher in the school garden teacher in the school garden

Operation Kids Understanding Deployment Operations participants roll barrels as part of Operation K.U.D.O.S. at Yokota Air Base, Japan, April 30, 2022. Operation K.U.D.O.S. consisted of pre-deployment processing and mock deployment scenario to help children understand what it is like for their parent to deploy.

Myers Miller, a student delegate representing North Sevier High School, waits for his team members in order to complete an obstacle on the Leadership Reaction Course as part of Freedom Academy at Camp Williams, Utah, July 11, 2022. Freedom Academy promotes the ideals and principles of the United States of America, a sense of patriotism, and motivation to actively participate in preserving our freedom.

Man bags mushroom substrate while child watches on Florida farm

School class on bridge, Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, South Africa, Africa

Teenagers in environmental professional training

Adult with group of teenagers in professional training

After eight months of designing, building and testing, the middle school, high school and college and university teams launched their rockets as part of NASA Student Launch on Sunday, April 8. The rockets and their payloads are designed to fly to 1-mile in altitude before deploying recovery systems that brings them safely to the ground.

Space Farm 7 Program; NASA Day at the Dell'osso Family Farm, Lathrop,CA for the opening of the Kepler Corn Maze. Lots of fun activities were available and Kepler scientists gave talks and hands on demos to the audience of kids and adults alike to better understand Kepler and it's mission.

USF Ranger Gives Talk @ Wonder Lake Campground IN AK Denali NP Summer

Creator: South Texas NWRC. Subjects: Fire; training; international; Education outreach and education; partnership. . 1998 - 2011.

Department of Interior officials and staff joining counterparts from other agencies in explaining government programs, and promoting Take Pride in America initiatives, at the Boy Scouts of America National Scout Jamboree, Caroline County, Virginia

Operation Junior Expeditionary Team (OpJET), June 17, 2022, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. OpJET provides children the opportunity to see a mock deployment and gives them an idea what their parent experiences when they report for duty away from home, as well as the process when they return.

Students on a field trip to the Old Constitution House, Windsor, VT

Animation building wooden birdhouses by LPOFrance

Shannon Daub, Panama City Motorcycle Training coach, monitors students during an Advanced Riders Course in Panama City, Florida, April 6, 2022. The ARC, a required course for Airmen, utilizes motorcycle range exercises to teach crash and obstacle avoidance in a variety of paths of travel.

Coast Guard personnel talking to children at Twin Lakes during a Kids Don't Float training event in Juneau, Alaska, June 30, 2022.Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Juneau, Coast Guard Station Juneau, and the 17th Coast Guard District partnered with Southeast Discovery to teach the summer camp class about life jackets, boating safety, and how to use different kinds of paddle craft. -U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston

Environmental Educator from Alaska Maritime NWR Melonie Shipman instructs elementary students at the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival in Homer, Alaska. Subjects: Environmental education; Shorebirds; Recreation; birding.

U.S. Marine Corps volunteers are instructed on what to look for when planting native trees at the Island Girl Power facility in Dededo, Guam, June 5, 2022. Founded in 2002, the non-profit organization Island Girl Power provides prevention and enrichment programs to young girls and teens, with a myriad of programs to include classes and workshops focusing on the prevention of teen pregnancy, suicide, substance abuse and sexual assault.

Children and siblings of Louisiana Soldiers and Airmen spend five days attending the fun, military-style summer camp, Camp Pelican Pride, at the Feliciana Retreat and Conference Center in Norwood, La., going through different tracks, such as marching, rock wall climbing, fishing and paddling, and resilience and medical preparedness training from June 27-July 1, 2022. The annual LANG military kids camp, often called Kids AT, began in 1997 and allows youth to build relationships with other children who understand experiences that are unique to children of service members, both deployed and stateside.

Costumed interpreter discussing the Frederiksen Plaque commemorating Otto Fredericksen, the sheep breeder who refounded Qassiarsuk, Greenland

Refuge employee points out areas of interest on a map to visitors. Subjects: Connecting people with nature; Employees (USFWS); Seniors; Service patch; Uniforms; Wildlife refuges. Location: Florida. Fish and Wildlife Service Site: CRYSTAL RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. . 1998 - 2011.

Daron Duke, Far West Anthropological Research Group, speaks with visitors to an archaeological site on the Utah Test and Training Range July 18, 2022. In compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, the Air Force works closely with the Utah State Historic Preservation Office to explore, discover, and preserve historical and cultural artifacts on the UTTR.

Coast Guard personnel teaching children how to use paddle craft at Twin Lakes during a Kids Don't Float training event in Juneau, Alaska, June 30, 2022.Personnel from Coast Guard Sector Juneau, Coast Guard Station Juneau, and the 17th Coast Guard District partnered with Southeast Discovery to teach the summer camp class about life jackets, boating safety, and how to use different kinds of paddle craft. -U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston

Teacher explains navigation with map and compass to a group of children, Yukon outdoor school program, White Pass, Chilkoot Pass, Chilkoot Trail, British Columbia, B.C., Canada, North America

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