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North Cascades National Park Service ComplexPaddling around Spencer Island, Ross Lake
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North Cascades National Park Service Complex
For Teachers
 

North Cascades National Park staff are excited to present science based web pages, bringing this National Park to your classrooms world-wide. Created for 5th through 8th grade level and also available in Spanish, these materials feature ten computer based activities with follow-up of computer activities. Check it out at North Cascades Homeward Bound.

Salmon of the Skagit River Watershed and Threatened and Endangered Species of the North Cascades are curriculm publications which provide background information and learning activities on these topics. Both are available on this website.

Newspapers in Education is a new computer based activities program with a broad perspective of interactive exploration of Pacific Northwest National Parks.

If you are a teacher searching for classroom materials, a student doing research, or a person looking for a place to spend some time, have some fun and learn in the process, LearnNPS is for you. Here you'll find curriculum, fun and games, a guide to park Junior Ranger and Web Rangers programs and a host of other fun and educational media created by the National Park Service and our partners. For more virtual experiences and Knowledge Centers relating NPS resources, see Views of the NPS.

 

National Parks have outstanding potential for encouraging learning in many subjects. Teacher to Ranger to Teacher opportunities may provide a most memorable and enriching summer of teacher development. Curriculm and experiences in this 8-week program in the park may have life-long results for the teachers and their students. If you teach in Skagit, Whatcom, or Chelan Counties, North Cascades is the national park in your backyard. Whether you spend your summer in the park or just expand your environmental science curriculum,  park staff is eager to help you use the park as a unique classroom.

FIELD TRIPS


The North Cascades Visitor Center, near the town of Newhalem along the North Cascades Highway, is a good starting point for a field trip to the park. It offers exhibits, audiovisual programs, and short trails. To help make your field trip educational, we have produced North Cascades National Park: A Living Classroom - Educator's Guide to Field Trips and Activities in Ross Lake National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park. From time to time, the park offers workshops in using background material, lesson plans, and trip planning advice. If you are considering a field trip to this area of North Cascades, call 206/386-4495 to speak with our Education Specialist, at least 3 weeks in advance to see if park rangers will be able to assist you.

If you are considering a field trip by boat to Stehekin, at the head of Lake Chelan, call 360-854-7365 to see whether ranger staff could present programs or other educational activities to your class. The park has prepared a publication to assist you: Opening the Door to the North Cascades - Educator's Guide to Field Trips and Activities in Lake Chelan National Recreation Area and North Cascades National Park. The lessons and activities in these currucula have been keyed to the Essential Academic Learning Requirements for Washington State.

A RANGER IN YOUR CLASSROOM


It may be possible for a Park Ranger to visit your school or classroom and present a program and/or activities. Our travel area spans the Skagit Valley and further, depending upon travel time. For arrangements, please call 206/386-4495 ext 19 to speak with our Education Specialist, Paula Ogden-Muse.

Gwen at Seguin Elementary
Gwen at Seguin Elementary in Texas
Gwen shares with students after her summer in the North Cascades
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Northwest Park Science
Six online activities and lesson plans
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Did You Know?  

Did You Know?
Early exploration of the Puget Sound lead to the naming of many peaks and areas with both Spanish and English names. Diablo Lake and Mount Baker are two examples in the North Cascades.
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Last Updated: January 12, 2009 at 18:26 EST