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Academic Fee Waiver Guidelines
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Planning A Class Visit
Theodore Roosevelt National Park continues to improve the educational value of school visits and to provide quality service to your group. As spring visits to the park are especially popular and time slots are limited, we encourage you to schedule your visit as soon as possible. Please use the following guidelines when planning school trips.

• Contact Judie Chrobak-Cox, South Unit District Interpreter, at 701-623-4730 ext. 3418 to schedule your class trip or if you have questions regarding a potential visit. Please call at least four weeks prior to your planned visit to insure your preferred day and time are available and to allow us adequate time for scheduling.
• Spring school groups will be limited to 2-4 each day (2 each morning and 2 each afternoon) due to limited staffing and to allow for a quality experience.
• For Spring 2009, the park will offer the following activities:
  - Viewing the 13-minute movie "TR Country"
  - A ranger-led interpretive program at the Maltese Cross Cabin (20-30 mins)
  - Time for classes to tour the museum on their own (15-30 minutes)
  - Interpretive nature walks in the park with a ranger.
  You may choose any of the activities for your class. If your class will participate in all four activities, please allow at least 3 to 3.5 hours. Guided hikes in the park include Wind Canyon Trail (1/3 mile, geology-focused) or Ridgeline Trail (1 mile, ecology and wildlife-focused). Please allow at least two hours for the round-trip drive to the trailhead and hiking time.
• Due to limited staffing in the spring, rangers will only accompany groups into the park that have requested guided interpretive walks. If your time is limited or if you choose not to do a guided ranger walk, you are welcome to take your class into the park on your own.
• If you would like a ranger to participate in some other type of activity with your group, please contact Judie Chrobak-Cox as early as possible. We may not be able to accommodate your plans if we receive your request on short notice.
• Due to forthcoming changes at our campground amphitheater facility, we will be unable to provide evening programs at the campground facility for any spring school groups. 
• Educational visits to the park are most beneficial when they are related to curriculum and include some pre-work and follow-up activities. We encourage you to work with your students before and after their visit to get the most out of their time in the park. Discussing Theodore Roosevelt's time in the badlands, local geology, and native wildlife would all be appropriate topics.
• Academic Fee Waivers are available for educational groups. Your group must meet the established criteria explained in the Academic Fee Waiver Guidelines to qualify for an educational fee waiver. The Academic Fee Waiver request form must be submitted to the park by fax or mail at least three weeks prior to your planned visit. If you have questions about fee waivers, contact the Fees Supervisor directly: Linda Canis, 701-623-4730 ext. 3426 or by e-mail at Linda_Canis@nps.gov.

Spending time in the North Dakota badlands can be a life-changing experience. We look forward to sharing this special place with you and your students.