President Obama launched Every Kid in a Park in 2015 to protect our outdoor spaces and get young people outside. Through this program, every fourth grade student has the opportunity to receive a pass for them and their families to visit more than 2,000 public lands and waters for free for a full year.

To maintain the success of Every Kid in a Park and give every child access to our greatest classroom – the one without walls – for years to come, several federal agencies signed an agreement to keep the program running. After 12 years, every school-age child in the country will have had the chance to explore public lands and waters for free.

 
Alexander from Arizona, sent a letter to the President thanking him for a great year in 4^th grade where he got to visit Yosemite
National Park with his family. Read his letter on the White House Blog here.

First Lady Michelle Obama is also a big fan of the program, which gives young people the opportunity to be active in the great outdoors. In a new virtual reality video, the First Lady encourages students to participate in the program and take advantage of the opportunity to explore both urban and rural parks free of charge. Host Nolan Gould then takes viewers into two parks brought to life through the wonders of virtual reality. Check out the video here. 

First Lady Michelle Obama talks about the Every Kid in a Park program in a new virtual reality video. Watch it now at everykidinapark.org. 

During the program’s first year, everykidinapark.gov received more than a million visitors, and over two million passes were downloaded. We’ve reached almost every fourth grader in the U.S. through print and digital channels. Thanks to a combination of philanthropic and existing federal funding, transportation grants have enabled half a million fourth graders across the country to visit their public lands and waters through school field trips. We also just released a Spanish translation of the website.  

There are many benefits of Every Kid in a Park: exposing children to natural beauty, cultivating an appreciation for our country’s cultural history, strengthening elementary school education and promoting a healthy, active lifestyle.

To get involved, fourth grade students can follow these four easy steps:

•          Log onto the Every Kid in a Park website
•          Complete a fun, educational activity
•          Download a pass for them and their families
•          Visit public lands and waters for free for a full year!

Yosemite National Park, California, June 18, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The seven participating federal agencies where the pass can be used are U.S. Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.

Read more about the interagency commitment to keep the program running on the White House Blog here.