America has thousands of acres that are designated as national parks. These parks are maintained by the National Park Service. This ensures that they are safe places to take a family for a nice camping trip or simply a day out. Parks can be a wonderful educational benefit.
Most of our national parks are preserved in their natural settings. This allows visitors to experience nature first hand. Plants growing in each park are native to the area. Visiting in all four seasons is a great idea so that the seasonal changes can be noted. Different plants respond to each season in a unique way. This display is a very beneficial, enlightening experience.
Some of our parks are in preserves and some are situated in the middle of forests, or wilderness areas. These are homes to a wide variety of furry friends. Being able to observe animals in their natural setting can be a wonderful learning experience for children and adults alike. Many of the parks contain what is called a “nature center.” These usually have plenty of pamphlets and other information about the area available. Many have unique animals, such as snakes, that have been injured and can no longer live in the wild. This is an opportunity to see animals and features that might be missed along the trail. Most of these also have learning tools such as bird houses, bee hives or other housing projects for animals or insects.
On the less natural side of things, there are many battlefields or military type parks that have been set aside as national parks. These can be learning tools for every student. Each battlefield has information about the battles that were fought on the site. This is a piece of our history that can be taught in hands on way and will never be forgotten.
National parks are a wonderful, inexpensive educational tool. They are easily accessed and available for teaching science, nature and even history. It’s better than a book! So, there should be as many national parks as possible for people to visit and enjoy.
