Sitka National Historical Park - planafieldtrip (U.S. National Park Service)

An elementary school student picks carrots from the Russian Bishop's House historical garden. Local school groups assist the park in growing and harvesting the garden each year.

The park offers a variety of field trip programs which can be tailored for any group, including multi-age home-school students. Parents and teachers are encouraged to contact the park’s Education Specialist at (907) 747-0134 or by e-mail for additional information or to arrange a field trip.

Forest
The temperate rainforest is a unique and fascinating place. Park rangers help students study the array of plants and animals that call the temperate rainforest of the park home.

River
Each autumn thousands of salmon return to the Indian River within the park to spawn, finishing their life cycles and inspiring viewers with their lively and arduous journey. Several programs about salmon and their habitat are presented during this time.

Beach
Sea Week is a regular coastal Alaska educational event that occurs during the low spring tides every year all over the state. Using beach combing tools provided by the park, rangers assist students in discovering the huge array of creatures that dwell in the intertidal zone of the ocean. A pre-Sea Week classroom program that helps students learn how to be safe and low-impact visitors to the intertidal zone are recommended for groups planning on visiting the park’s beach.

History & Culture
Park rangers can provide programs which help students understand the rich history and culture of Southeast Alaska. The following programs can be customized for your group.

Park rangers guide walks along the park’s “Totem Trail” to discover Northwest Coast carving methods and stories through the park’s outdoor historical totem pole exhibit. House posts, robes, baskets, and metal carvings within the Visitor Center’s exhibits can also be explored (especially if the weather is inclement).
Bentwood box cooking demonstrations provide students with an understanding of how Northwest Coast peoples made use of their environment to sustain their needs. Live cooking of local shellfish in traditional bentwood boxes makes this a fascinating and exciting demonstration.
Russian Bishop’s House tours highlight Russian American history and can be tailored to meet the needs of all school groups. A few of the specific themes that can be addressed as part of this tour include: colonialism, multicultural exchange, Alaska history, historical building methods, and historical building restoration and protection. Other themes can be developed and addressed.
Exploring an 1845 scale model of Sitka when it was the Russian capital, Novo-Archangels’k or New Archangel, is an excellent way for students to learn Sitka’s history and how communities change over time. Seasonally this model is set up near local schools, and programs tailored to multiple age needs are presented. Throughout the rest of the year, the model is housed at the Russian Bishop’s House.
Local early elementary school groups assist the park in growing and harvesting the Russian Bishop’s House historical garden as a cooperative educational event each year. The historical garden is then used to interpret the history of the house to park visitors throughout the summer months.
The site of the Battle of 1804, one of the last major battles between the Native Tlingit people and the Russian colonists, provides a valuable view into colonialism, military strategy, and other topics that can be focused on group educational needs. Park rangers regularly guide walks to this battle site and the site of the related Tlingit fort.
Historically accurate costumes from the Russian period in Sitka are used by students to learn about how people lived in the past and about the historical ethnic diversity of Sitka.