If you have a fourth grader and like visiting national parks, this might be the year to plan a road trip. A national program that began Sept. 1 offers all of the nation\u2019s fourth graders, and their families, passes into national parks and lands \u2014 for free.<\/p>\n
The pass gets registered fourth graders, up to three adults, and the rest of the (underage) family in, just like an annual pass would.<\/p>\n
There are two ways to get the pass, said Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center Assistant Director Nikki Hinds. A fourth grader can apply online (which Hinds said is easy) and print out the paper voucher. That voucher gets them into the park. When they get to a park, they can change it for the more durable plastic pass if they wish \u2014 the only catch is that the fourth grader him or herself has to be present. Hinds has several hundred plastic passes she would love to run out of, she said.<\/p>\n
The other way for kids to get the passes is for their fourth grade teacher to go to the website and fill out information. The teacher can then print the paper vouchers for each student, which can be switched for the plastic passes via the same process. Hinds said she plans to reach out to fourth grade teachers locally after the cruise ship season ends.<\/p>\n
The program, started at the White House, is supported by eight agencies \u2014 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. Department of Education, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.<\/p>\n
Nationally, all the agencies together have a goal of getting 1 million fourth graders signed up, said Alaska Region Interpretation and Conservation Education Program Manager Annette Heckart. The Forest Service has set a national goal of signing up 50,000 kids; Alaskan Forest Service employees \u201cwill work towards contributing to the national Forest Service goal,\u201d she wrote in an email.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re quite excited to have the program,\u201d said Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center Director John Neary. \u201cWe\u2019re hoping it brings more Juneau kids out to the visitor center\u2026 we welcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For NOAA in Alaska, Juneau\u2019s Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute is already free and open to the public; so is the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center. Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Reserve is also participating in the program, said NOAA spokesperson Julie Speegle.<\/p>\n
Sept. 25 of this year through April, there is no fee at Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center; the fee will increase from $3 per person to $5 per person come May 1. It would be great for local families to come get the plastic passes before next year\u2019s summer crowds arrive, Hinds said.<\/p>\n
In the winter, the Visitor Center is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Juneau Ranger District office also has passes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would love to see all the fourth graders coming in with their vouchers, getting their pass,\u201d Hinds said. <\/p>\n
The passes are for Sept. 1 of this year until Aug. 31 of next. September 2016, the plan is to start the program anew with a new group of fourth graders. <\/p>\n
The website is https:\/\/www.everykidinapark.gov\/. <\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Juneau Empire outdoors writer Mary Catharine Martin at maryc.martin@juneauempire.com. <\/p>\n
\n\nMendenhall Glacier Visitor Center Assistant Director Nikki Hinds said the center\u2019s Fall Fun Fest, normally on Halloween weekend, will be Nov. 14 this year. That, she said, could be a good time for kids to bring their vouchers, though they can do so anytime the center is open.<\/p>\n
The glacier\u2019s kids corner \u2014 the corner dedicated to coloring, books, puppets, and kids activities \u2014 will be set up by mid-October, she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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