Dunes Learning Center, Indiana Dunes National Park’s education partner, received an Open OutDoors for Kids grant from the National Park Foundation (NPF). This grant will extend the reach of the current Walk Through Time experience, which takes students on a living history tour from first settlement to the present.
Since 1998, Indiana Dunes National Park and Dunes Learning Center have partnered to deliver Walk Through Time as part of the Frog in the Bog overnight camp experience for teachers and students in grades 4-6. Also featuring a succession hike through Cowles Bog, Frog in the Bog was developed by a consortium of teachers and community members including the learning center’s co-founders--environmental activist Lee Botts, former Indiana Dunes National Park superintendent Dale Engquist, and Indiana University geology professor Mark Reshkin.
“Over the years we have learned that teachers do not have a lot of resources to connect Indiana state standards with local history and the unique environment of the Indiana Dunes,” Erin Crofton, Education Director at Dunes Learning Center, said. “This program will be especially beneficial for 4th grade students as they study Indiana history throughout the school year.”
A new pre-visit lesson, Historic Pathways: Early Settlers in the Indiana Dunes, will focus on the journeys of the region’s earliest settlers, a French fur trader and Swedish farmer. Then, during the Walk Through Time living history tour at Bailly Homestead and Chellberg Farm in Indiana Dunes National Park, students will meet these characters plus an indigenous person of the Potawatomi Bear Clan, early industrialist/land planner, and a National Park ranger who all explain how the southern shore of Lake Michigan became an unlikely mix of National Park, State Park, steel mills, schools, businesses, churches, and homes.
Back in the classroom, a new post-visit lesson, My Family Heritage: What’s Your Story?, will give students the opportunity to trace their family's journey to the Indiana Dunes region using guided prompts to help them create presentations that share their unique stories.
Since 2011, NPF has engaged more than one million students in educational programs connecting them with national parks across the country. NPF’s goal is to connect another one million students to parks by 2024.
The NPF Open OutDoors for Kids program is made possible by private philanthropy, including support from Youth Engagement and Education premier partner Union Pacific Railroad. Additional support is provided by Apple, Sierra, Columbia Sportswear, Parks Project, The Batchelor Foundation, Inc., Humana, and many individual donors.
ABOUT DUNES LEARNING CENTER
Dunes Learning Center has been providing exceptional outdoor learning experiences that spark curiosity, joy, and wonder for 25 years. Overnight and under the stars in Indiana Dunes National Park, school groups and summer campers make meaningful and memorable connections as they explore the ecology and history of the 4th most biodiverse National Park in our country. Need-based financial assistance makes the experience possible for more than 50% of the students who join us on campus each year. Learn more at www.DunesLearningCenter.org
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
The National Park Foundation works to protect wildlife and park lands, preserve history and culture, educate, and engage youth, and connect people everywhere to the wonder of parks. We do it in collaboration with the National Park Service, the park partner community, and with the generous support of donors, without whom our work would not be possible. Learn more at www.nationalparks.org.
A Dunes Learning Center naturalist provides an inside look at life as an early 1800s French Fur Trader for 4th graders taking a Walk Through Time at Bailly Homestead in Indiana Dunes National Park.