Research supports the benefits of exposing children to nature, yet classroom teachers indicate they do not possess the time, monetary resources, or space to construct an ideal outdoor space. An underutilized resource is the non-traditional educator who has: knowledge about the outdoors; space, especially in state parks; and time since the primary…

This year marks the U.S. National Park Service's 100th anniversary. Although the nation's first national park--Yellowstone--dates to 1872, the government organization protecting and administering the national parks was founded just a hundred years ago, in 1916. Many U.S. national parks were established to preserve their unique geology or biology.…

Mobile device accelerometers are a simple and easy way for students to collect accurate and detailed data on an amusement park ride. The resulting data can be graphed to assist in the creation of force diagrams to help students explain their physical sensations while on the ride. This type of activity can help students overcome some of the…

A well-known approach to linear least squares regression is that which involves minimizing the sum of squared orthogonal projections of data points onto the best fit line. This form of regression is known as orthogonal regression, and the linear model that it yields is known as the major axis. A similar method, reduced major axis regression, is…

This article presents an interview with Cynthia Light Brown, author of "Discover National Monuments, National Parks: Natural Wonders," a book that introduces readers ages 8-12 to the history and science behind some of the amazing natural sites in the United States. In this interview, Cynthia Light Brown describes how she became interested in…

Practitioners in informal science settings--museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, libraries, aquariums, zoos, and botanical gardens--are interested in finding out what learning looks like, how to measure it, and what they can do to ensure that people of all ages, from different backgrounds and cultures,…

Informal science is a burgeoning field that operates across a broad range of venues and envisages learning outcomes for individuals, schools, families, and society. The evidence base that describes informal science, its promise, and effects is informed by a range of disciplines and perspectives, including field-based research, visitor studies, and…

Within this huge national park (over two million acres spread across Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho) are steaming geysers, hot springs, bubbling mudpots, and fumaroles, or steam vents. Drives on the main roads of Yellowstone take tourists through the major hot attractions, which also include Norris Geyser Basin, Upper and Lower Geyser Basin, West…

This booklet documents, in words and pictures, the Environmental Living Program. This program, which has been in operation since 1969, provides overnight living experiences for elementary and secondary school students at cultural, historic, or prehistoric sites. The sites are National and State parks and private sites in California and Arizona.…

This is the second of four booklets describing the Environmental Living Program. This program, which has been in operation since 1969, provides overnight living experiences for elementary and secondary school students at cultural, historic, or prehistoric sites throughout the West. This booklet describes, in the words of the teachers and students,…

This is the fourth of four booklets describing the Environmental Living Program. This program, which has been in operation since 1969, provides overnight living experiences for elementary and secondary school students at cultural, historic, or prehistoric sites in California and Arizona. This booklet addresses practical matters such as cost,…

Describes a computer-based Wilderness Travel Simulation Model that reduces the complexity of the outdoor system under study, allows students to act as managers (devising and testing their own management strategies), and increases student exposure to characteristics of actual park and wilderness areas. Two scenarios of recreational use patterns are…

Describes the Sesame Place's Computer Gallery, 56 Apple II computers linked by three Nestar Cluster/One Model A hard disc systems, the first commercial permanent educational play park. Programs for this hands-on indoor/outdoor park as well as a description of the facility are given. (JN)

Discusses the Youth Activity and Recreational Development (YARD) Center project, one school's efforts to return their school grounds to a more natural state in order to support integrated learning in a natural area, provide an environmental education workstation and writing laboratory, and have an aesthetically pleasing area for students and…

This is the third of four booklets describing the Environmental Living Program. This program, which has been in operation since 1969, provides overnight living experiences for elementary and secondary school students at cultural, historic, or prehistoric sites throughout the West. This booklet discusses such questions as: How do the teachers…