Macaroni Kid South Birmingham is preparing for an epic three week road trip this summer as part of a family dream to expose our kids to our nation's amazing national parks, while they are still young! A plan, years in the making, we can't believe the time to go is almost here! Part of the inspiration and timing for this trip has come from an amazing government program, that makes taking your family to see these special places, just a little bit easier. It is called "Every Kid in a Park," and we want to make sure you know all about it. Don't miss your opportunity to save a little bit of money exploring federal lands, both near and far!
We will be documenting our trip in the weekly e-newsletter, and on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe and follow along with us on this special trip! We hope sharing our adventures will help you find ways to get your kids out experiencing protected places. Let's all commit to inspire the next generation to continue protecting our nation's heritage.
From the Every Kid in a Park Website
As part of the commitment to protect our nation’s unique outdoor spaces and ensure that every American has the opportunity to visit and enjoy them, the Every Kid in a Park program allows fourth graders nationwide to go to www.everykidinapark.gov and obtain a pass for free entry for them and their families to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters nationwide for an entire year.
By introducing fourth graders to public lands in their back yards and beyond at an early age, the innovative Every Kid in a Park program delivers a nationwide call to action to build the next generation of outdoor stewards of our country’s spectacular and diverse federal lands and waters. Connecting our nation’s youth to the great outdoors is even more important at a time when 80 percent of American families live in cities and most children spend more time on computers and smartphones than exploring nature. The initiative is slated to continue with each year’s group of fourth graders to inspire successive generations to become responsible stewards of our nation’s natural and cultural heritage.
Every Kid in a Park invites children of all backgrounds to discover their public lands and all they offer, including opportunities to be active and spend time with friends and family. As living classrooms, these outdoor places and historic sites also provide hands-on, real-world opportunities to develop critical skills and learn about the natural world.
Students participate in a fun, educational activity on the Every Kid in a Park website and receive a personalized paper pass to print and bring with them to visit public lands. At certain participating sites, fourth graders can also exchange the paper pass for a durable plastic Interagency Annual 4th Grade Pass. Fourth graders must be present for free entry into parks and to exchange the paper pass for a plastic one.
The Every Kid in a Park pass admits the fourth grader and any accompanying passengers in a private, non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas, or the pass owner and up to three accompanying adults at sites that charge per person. The pass grants access to all federal lands and waters.
On the website, educators and community leaders can access educational activities, field trip options, and the ability to print passes for their classrooms. The pass is only for fourth grade students, not educators/teachers. Parents visiting the new website can find links to additional information on planning trips to nearby public lands.
Every Kid in a Park is an interagency effort supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior (which includes the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Please contact a federal land or water site directly if you have questions about pass acceptance and fees: · Bureau of Land Management (www.blm.gov) · Bureau of Reclamation (www.usbr.gov) · National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (www.oceanservice.noaa.gov) · National Park Service (www.nps.gov) · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (www.corpslakes.us) · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (www.fws.gov) · U.S. Forest Service (www.fs.fed.us) · www.everykidinapark.gov
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Macaroni Kid South Birmingham is a free weekly e-newsletter and website focused on fun family events and things to do with kids in the South Birmingham region. We gather together all kinds of local family events and activities each week, and add useful information about classes, family-focused businesses, book and product reviews, recipes, crafts, school and camp guides and more. We proudly serve families in downtown Birmingham, Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Pelham, the Oak Mountain and 280 area, Helena and Alabaster.
