The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically impacted opportunities for internships in parks, recreation, tourism, and sports. The government mandated numerous agencies to close. Many agencies that remained open reduced staff, froze budgets, shifted programs online, and discontinued internships. The senior internship for Parks, Recreation, and Tourism…

I have been teaching an information technology course in recreation, parks & tourism partially online (hybrid format) for nearly a decade; however, I never taught it fully online until the shift to emergency remote instruction during the pandemic. What I found was that some of my previous reasons for not wanting to teach fully online were…

The history of parks and recreation is deeply rooted in child's play. From Joseph Lee's writings about the developmental benefits of child's play at the beginning of the 20th century to the establishment of the University of Illinois's Motor Performance and Play Research Laboratory in the 1960s and 1970s, child's play has been a central focus of…

Senior internships in parks and recreation are an opportunity to put classroom knowledge to practice. However, this is likely the first time students are in a learning environment without the immediate support of faculty and peers. To alleviate this issue, online discussion boards were used to connect interns who were located across the country.…

This article describes a number of privately operated theme parks, explains why the parks have been successful, and looks at career opportunities for leisure professionals in this expanding area. Implications for recreation education are pointed out, and names and addresses of major companies in the theme park business are provided. (PP)

Summaries of papers given at a regional training institute on parks and recreation facilities, programs, amd objectives are presented. The purposes of the institute were to encourage professionalism among those who work in parks and recreation, to foster interagency cooperation, and to support colleges that train parks and recreation…

This document presents guidelines for creating a master plan for community parks and recreation programs. The master plan is a written document used by community decision makers to provide a consistent 5 to 10 year parks and recreation plan. Chapters provide information on: (1) definition and general description of master plans; (2) goals and…

Standards are suggested for urban parks and recreation agencies in serving ethnic minorities with limited financial resources. Goals involve (1) recognizing the value of recreation as a social service; (2) seeking feedback from clients; (3) confronting the harsh realities of impoverished neighborhoods; (4) making facilities accessible; and (5)…

Changes in median age, family structure, and fitness attitudes are affecting city park usage. Many park and recreation people are on the fringes of fitness but need to provide more programs. Ways of providing fitness programs are discussed. (MT)

The article discusses ways that recreation and parks programs could and should serve the Hispanic community and includes descriptions of religious and cultural activities of this ethnic group. (CB)

A behaviorally anchored rating scale serves as a foundation for an effective human performance resources management system. Suggestions for developing an evaluation form for seasonal park and recreation employees are discussed. (DF)

Suggestions are made for financing and implementing solar energy programs in recreational parks. (JD)

Leisure and recreation leaders who influence policy must consider social and economic trends that influence recreation participation. Using secondary data is a cost-effective way to accomplish this. This collection of 14 articles demonstrates how data from a variety of sources may be used to make predictions about trends in leisure and recreation.…

This study of public parks and recreation agencies throughout the United States was undertaken to develop a mathematical pricing formula sensitive to local spending abilities in order to determine if a per capita pricing structure would be possible. Four hundred and seventy public parks and recreation agencies responded to a survey of fees and…

Topics covered in this symposium included: (1) a perspective for seeking commercial sponsorships; (2) developing an activity program that perpetuates developmental skills; (3) emerging American lifestyles: implications for park and recreation professionals; (4) clinical hypnosis: a possible adjunct to therapeutic recreation; (5) impact fees for…