Park Program Connects Kids to Kalaupapa

KNHP News Release

Kalaupapa National Historical Park (KNHP) will be offering interested fourth grade teachers on Molokai the opportunity to have a Kalaupapa Interpretive Park Ranger visit their class throughout the school year. They will bring Kalaupapa to each Molokai school through fun and interactive lessons. This is part of the White House’s new Every Kid in a Park program.

The long term goal of this initiative is to educate and inspire the next generation of environmental ambassadors and stewards,” said KNHP Superintendent Erika Espaniola. “I’m excited for the NPS to bring programs into Molokai classrooms and share the importance of this very special place.”

Fourth grade students can now go to everykidinapark.gov to complete an activity and obtain a free annual entry pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks. Though the pass is not valid for entry to Kalaupapa, it can be used to visit other national parks in Hawaii and across the US. In accordance with Kalawao County rules, access to Kalaupapa Peninsula is restricted and persons under 16 years of age are not permitted. The traveling Interpretive Park Ranger is an important part of the park’s new educational outreach program to bring Kalaupapa to topside Molokai.

“During the National Park Service’s centennial celebration, we want everyone to get to know their national parks, and we’re offering a special invitation to fourth graders and their families to discover everything that national parks offer,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “We hope these free passes for 4^th graders will introduce 4^th graders, their classes, and families to our national treasures, places where they can run and play, explore and learn.”

To receive their free pass for national parks, fourth graders can visit the Every Kid in a Park website and play a game to access their special Every Kid in a Park pass. Fourth graders and their families can then use this pass for free entry national parks and other federal public lands and waters across the country now through Aug. 31, 2016. The goal of the Every Kid in a Park program is to connect fourth graders with the great outdoors and inspire them to become future environmental stewards, ready to preserve and protect national parks and other public lands for years to come. The program is an important part of the National Park Service’s centennial celebration in 2016, which encourages everyone to Find Your Park.

Every Kid in a Park is an administrative-wide effort, launched by President Obama, and supported by eight federal agencies, including the National Park Service.

To schedule a classroom visit, please contact Miki`ala Pescaia, Interpretive Park Ranger, Kalaupapa National Historical Park, at (808)567-6802 x1750 or by email mikiala_pescaia@nps.gov.