This winter, with the help of a generous gift from the Richard Haiman National Parks Foundation Inc., the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is once again expanding its educational services to provide area students with free in-school programs from park rangers.

Now in its second year, the programs are being offered from Jan. 7- March 1. This off-season project is an extension of the Park’s popular field trip program Smoky Mountain Classrooms. Students in kindergarten through seventh grade have an opportunity to learn about the diverse resources of the National Park System.

Through stories, puppets and fun hands-on activities, students in kindergarten through second grade can learn how to responsibly take care of the Earth. Students in fourth through sixth grade use geography and mapping skills in an activity that has them travel across the United States to different national parks learning how each is unique and special. Seventh-grade students have a unique opportunity to learn about area air quality issues as they graph and analyze data collected at air and weather monitoring stations in the Smokies. This unit utilizes a recently produced video from the Mountain Air Quality Coalition of Western North Carolina as a pro-site lesson and also contains a post-visit web-based activity.

Programs are offered free of charge, Tuesday - Friday. Most lessons last between 45-90 minutes depending on the age group. To make a reservation or to learn more about these education programs, call park ranger Susan Sachs at 828.497.1908.

The Richard Haiman National Parks Foundation of Orlando, Fla., provides funding to selected parks for trail repairs, educational programs, and other projects. Richard Haiman was an avid hiker and long-time supporter of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Foundation was established after his death in 1997. So far the Foundation has provided $124,000 to the Smokies for park programs and projects.