Here are some important steps you can take to make a trip to a national park an enjoyable experience for you and your children.
Difficulty Level: Medium Time Required: Not Applicable
Here's How:
- Start with the idea that a family trip to a national park will
be fun but also a learning experience.
- Contact park/s ahead of time to find out what programs are
available for kids (e.g. Junior Naturalist Program).
- Involve children in planning the trip and activities as much
as possible. Discuss past vacations with them to find out what they enjoyed or
didn't enjoy, and try to incorporate some of the activities of interest to
them.
- Prepare your children in advance for the
trip you will be taking. If you are traveling by car or plane, you can show
them on a map the route you will be taking. Even young children enjoy
following the route on a map.
- Since most national parks are not located near major cities
and may require extensive drive time to reach, break trips into small
segments as much as possible and include rest stops in your travel plans. Also,
be sure to have activities on hand to keep the children occupied, such as
games, books, puzzles, cassette recorders and tapes, etc.
-
If you make frequent trips to national parks or just like to keep track of the
places you’ve visited, consider purchasing the Passport to Your
National Parks Stamp Series. The kids can then affix pictures of the various
parks to the passport book and have it stamped at every park you visit.
- Have children keep a scrapbook or journal of your vacation. They
can cut pictures out of brochures and paste them in, keep their ticket stubs,
or draw things to represent what they've seen on the
trip. Buy an inexpensive camera (with
flash) for children old enough to use it. The trip can then be photographed from
the child's prospective.
- Be flexible in your planning and don't overschedule activities -- kids need to time to
play and to rest.
- Bring plenty of snacks and drinks.
- If your trip includes any hiking, remember that a child's stamina may not be a good as yours.
Plan a hike within the capabilities of all the children and adults
participating.
- Make a checklist of park wildlife and have your kids record
each animal they spot on the list.
- Enthusiasm is contagious. If you aren't excited about a
trip to a national park, you can't expect a child to be. Show a genuine
exuberance for the
outdoors, and point out everything as if it is the first time you have ever
seen it.
Tips:
- Travel guidebooks are useful resources, but consider purchasing some kid-friendly books with lots of pictures.
Related Features:
- Family Pages - links to a variety
of fun resources for kids and the outdoors.
- Educational Resources - learn about the Parks as Classrooms Program, Junior Naturalists, and other environmental education programs.
