Every Kid in a Park

Marvel at the St. Louis Arch, the Florida Keys, and the Frederick Douglass house. Listen to wolves howl. Walk in dinosaur tracks. Look up into the inky night sky, and reach for the stars! These sites belong to all of us — including you. President Barack Obama created Every Kid in a Park so fourth graders and their families could discover our wildlife, resources, and history for free.

Our country is full of dazzling landscapes where you can play and learn. They protect our wildlife and resources. They let us look into the past and protect our history. Keeping them public supports a healthy planet.

As part of President Obama’s commitment to protect our nation’s unique outdoor spaces and ensure that every American has the opportunity to visit and enjoy them, the Every Kid in a Park initiative allows fourth graders nationwide to go to www.everykidinapark.gov and obtain a pass for free entry for them and their families to more than 2,000 federally managed lands and waters nationwide for an entire year starting September 1, 2015. By introducing fourth graders to public lands in their backyards and beyond at an early age, the innovative EveryKid in a Park initiative delivers a nationwide call to action to build the next generation of outdoor stewards of our country’s spectacular and diverse federal lands and waters. Connecting our nation’s youth to the great outdoors is even more important at a time when 80 percent of American families live in cities and most children spend more time on computers and smartphones than exploring nature. The initiative is slated to continue with each year’s group of fourth graders to inspire successive generations to become responsible stewards of our nation’s natural and cultural heritage. Every Kid in a Park invites children of all backgrounds to discover their public lands and all they offer, including opportunities to be active and spend time with friends and family. As living classrooms, these outdoor places and historic sites also provide hands-on, real-world opportunities to develop critical skills and learn about the natural world. Students participate in a fun, educational activity on the Every Kid in a Park website and receive a personalized paper pass to print and bring with them to visit public lands. At certain participating sites, fourth graders can also exchange the paper pass for a durable plastic Interagency Annual 4th Grade Pass. Fourth graders must be present for free entry into parks and to exchange the paper pass for a plastic one. The paper or plastic passes will be valid from September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2016. The Every Kid in a Park pass admits the fourth grader and any accompanying passengers in a private, non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas, or the pass owner and up to three accompanying adults at sites that charge per person. On the website, educators and community leaders can access educational activities, field trip options, and the ability to print passes for their classrooms. Parents visiting the new website can find links to additional information on planning trips to nearby public lands.

Eight agencies support Every Kid in a Park. Learn more about their conservation work and find activities by visiting their websites.
Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Reclamation
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Park Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Every Kid in a Park initiative?

As part of President Obama’s commitment to protect our nation’s unique outdoor spaces and ensure that every American has the opportunity to visit and enjoy them, he launched the “Every Kid in a Park” initiative to provide all fourth grade students and their families free admission to national parks and other federal lands and waters for a full year starting September 1, 2015.

2. Why do we need the Every Kid in a Park initiative?

Today, more than 80 percent of American families live in urban areas, and many lack easy access to safe outdoor spaces. At the same time, kids are spending more hours than ever in front of screens instead of outside. The Every Kid in a Park initiative encourages valuable opportunities to explore, learn, and play

in the spectacular places that belong to us all and aims to inspire stewardship of these places for future generations.

3. What are the goals of the Every Kid in a Park initiative?

From sea to shining sea, our country is home to inspiring landscapes, vibrant waterways, and historic treasures that all Americans can enjoy. The goal of
the Every Kid in a Park initiative is to inspire fourth graders nationwide to visit our federal lands and waters, whether it is a backyard city park or a national forest,

a seashore, or a marine sanctuary. By targeting fourth graders year after year, the program works to ensure every child in the U.S. has the opportunity to visit and enjoy their federal lands and waters by the time he or she is 11 years old.

4. Why fourth graders?

Research shows that children ages 9-11 are at a unique developmental stage in their learning where they begin to understand how the world around them works in more concrete ways. At this stage, they are receptive to new ideas and most likely to hold positive attitudes towards nature and the environment.
5. Who is running the Every Kid in a Park initiative?
Every Kid in a Park is an Administration-wide effort supported by the U.S. Department of the Interior (which includes the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
6. How can a fourth grader obtain fee-free access to federal lands and waters?
Starting September 1, 2015, fourth graders (including home-schooled students) can obtain a paper pass for free entry into all federal lands and waters by visiting the Every Kid in a Park website at www.everykidinapark.gov. Students participate in an educational activity and receive a paper pass to print and bring with them to visit public lands. At certain participating sites, fourth graders can exchange the paper pass for a durable plastic Interagency Annual 4th Grade Pass. Fourth graders must be present for free entry into parks and to exchange the paper pass for a plastic pass. The fourth grader can use either the paper pass or the durable pass for fee-free entry, and both are valid from September 1, 2015, through August 31, 2016.