Thanks to a scholarship, local students can qualify for free excursions to the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument

Local schools wishing to organize field trips for students Birmingham National Civil Rights Monument have the chance to do it for free.

For the second year, the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument has received a Open Outdoors for Kids Grant of the National Park Foundation, the official charity of the National Park Service. The National Park Service oversees part of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument.

According to a National Park Service press release, the grant will fund the development of curriculum-based programming for local K-12 students and will include free bus transportation and free admission to partner sites. Last year, grant funds sponsored free field trips for 593 Title I school students and 76 adult teachers and chaperones, the National Park Service said in the same statement.

“Teacher evaluations of the field trips demonstrated that the experience helped them meet their state’s standards, such as recognizing important figures and depicting events in the civil rights movement,” said the National Park Service.

Last year, the National Monument helped design and conduct field trips as well as developing a Junior Ranger book which was published in July. The National Park Service will give the Junior Ranger book to students who complete the excursion. After the field trip, the agency will also offer the opportunity for NPS rangers to visit schools for a Junior Ranger Swearing-in Ceremony, where students will receive a Junior Ranger Badge.

“We are honored and grateful to once again receive this grant from the National Park Foundation, and we look forward to continuing the collaborative effort to design and deliver high-quality, curriculum-based programs to local youth with our partner sites” , said Kristofer Butcher, the superintendent. at the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, in a press release.

Partner sites include the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and three churches that were instrumental in the local civil rights movement: 16th St. Baptist Church, St. Paul United Methodist Church and the historic Bethel Baptist Church.

Typical excursions will consist of visits to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, one of the churches involved in the local civil rights movement, and Kelly Ingram Park. Special program trips will also be offered. Special excursions to visit the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See exhibition at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute are available through January 6.

Schools and teachers interested in arranging field trips to the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument should contact Kathryn Gardiner at [email protected], text or call (205) 568-3963, or register online using the Field trip registration form.

The target audience for the Field Trips are students from Title I schools in surrounding school districts with the goal of providing a field trip experience for 1,500 area youth during the 2022-2023 school year.

Since 2011, the National Park Foundation has engaged more than one million students in educational programs connecting them to national parks across the country. The foundation’s goal is to connect another million students to parks over the next four years.

“National parks are America’s greatest classrooms,” Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, said in a press release. “With parks, learning is fun, memorable and hands-on. Parks open children’s eyes to the wonders and complexities of nature and history, and the National Park Foundation is committed to connecting as many children as possible to parks through our Open OutDoors for Kids program.