America’s Best Idea Grants

Family of Voices: Telling the Untold Stories of Amistad

The park will host a three day story telling workshop for local educators, cultural leaders and others in the art and benefits of storytelling to connect the hearts and minds of the public with the park.

Back To The Land, Anthropologists and Crow Students Working Together to Understand and Honor the Crow Past

High school students from the local Crow Indian Reservation witness their history through hands-on experience in a week long field-school program focusing on Archaeological sites directly related to thier ancestors.

TRACK Trails: A family discovery of our public lands.

The TRACK (Trails, Ridges, & Active, Caring Kids) program will provide multi-media led discoveries for children and families of all ages to help build deeper bonds with the park.

Native American Summer Festival on the Boston Harbor Islands

The traditions, histories, and contemporary lives of Native Americans in the Boston Harbor Islands, will be celebrated and spotlighted for the region in this summer festival.

Cape Lookout National Seashore—A Place for All People

Students from Carteret County will explore Cape Lookout National Seashore and Fort Macon State Park, understand the importance of citizen stewardship, and learn about career opportunities in these park agencies through four weeklong programs.

Carl Sandburg Park Kids Summer Learning Experience: Building Tomorrow's Park Stewards

The Sandburg Park Kids Summer Learning Experience program introduces youth participating in area summer camps to the park and the lessons of Carl Sandburg through a week-long ranger-led education program for elementary and middle school-age youth.

The Missing Link - Middle School Youth Outdoor Education Adventure

An exciting, outdoor-adventure program that will engage local middle school students in a variety of experiences learning about stewardship, recreation and management of public lands.

Life on the Farm

Hyde Farm, a newly acquired property jointly managed by the National Park Service and Cobb County government, will host a new, outdoor, overnight experience for inner-city students from the Metro Atlanta area. Students will enjoy a unique opportunity to learn about and experience what life was life back in the 19th and 20th centuries through "real-life" activities and learning adventures.

Congaree National Park: Swamp Stories/CyberSwamp

Congaree will grow the park's "Swamp Stories" tradition, by launching a new, expanded website that allows the public to share their stories and explore the tales that others have published in this park-community resource.

Who Am I? Exploring the Wright brothers, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Colonel Charles Young.

Working with teachers from Edison Community School and their "Who Am I?" museum curriculum for 3–5 graders, Dayton Aviation will bring to life the legacies of Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Colonel Charles Young through new exhibits. The National Afro-American Museum/Colonel Charles Young House, an affiliate of the Ohio Historical Society, will also collaborate on this community history project.

Women on the Water: Connecting Women, Nature and National Parks.

"Women on the Water" is a multi-disciplinary program that gives young women first-hand experience in the natural world—specifically in the Delaware River and its associated riparian ecosystems. Fifteen female high school seniors from urban Philadelphia will participate in this engaging program designed to create lasting connection to the natural world.

Spanish Language Reality Television Special—Into the Wild, A families real adventure in

Everglades National Park Everglades National Park is producing a Spanish language reality-television program that follows the adventures of a Spanish speaking family from Greater Miami as they plan, experience, and then tell their friends and neighbors about their first camping adventure in Everglades National Park.

Flight 93 National Memorial—Untold Stories

The world changed on September 11, 2001—and for the students of the Shanksville-Stonycreek School, just minutes from the Flight 93 Crash Site in Pennsylvania, it literally seemed that the sky was falling. Now, the Flight 93 National Memorial, the only national park commemorating 9/11, will capture the stories of students who were in class that day, and develop those stories into lasting programs at the new memorial.

Glacier in Focus

Glacier National Park will bring the middle school youth of the Missoula Boys and Girls Club into the park to participate in a series of programs that highlight the land and resources.

Urban Trailblazers (UTB): Expanding Opportunities for Urban Youth in the Golden Gate National Parks

The Crissy Field Center's Urban Trailblazers program (UTB), will reach out specifically to 35 youth from under-resourced communities in San Francisco to help them develop a sense of ownership and stewardship of our parklands through hands-on trail-building, restoration, backpacking, and education.

Grand Canyon in Focus: Discovering National Parks through the Lens of a Camera

Grand Canyon National Park, the Udall Foundation, Saguaro National Park, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson and East Valley, Arizona, will partner to provide an opportunity for youth and their families to discover public lands and the art of nature photography. The program will include an overnight camp and family cookouts at Saguaro National Park, two week long road trips around northern Arizona, and a week-long photography camp at Grand Canyon National Park.

Children in Nature Multicultural Engagement Program

The purpose of the Children in Nature Multicultural Engagement Program is to provide experiential outdoor opportunities for the under-served Latino populations within the community residing in the area of Grand Teton National Park. The Program will include leadership development, mentoring or scaffolding opportunities, and study of the area's natural resources located within Grand Teton National Park

Engaging Latino/Hispanic Audiences at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Great Sand Dunes Partners in the Park program will provide training for four Latino/Hispanic educators who will then deliver interpretation programs and share information about the Park on-site and in their communities. The goals of the project are to 1) create new relationships with Latino/Hispanic communities near GRSA that will 2) improve participation by Latino/Hispanic audiences in on– and off–site programs offered by the Park.

Digital Mountain DM X It's My Park second annual Film Festival 2010

Teachers will encourage and engage rural disenfranchised youth from areas surrounding the park to get involved. Students will be provided free transportation to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to participate in the project, where they will be loaned video cameras to record their discoveries. The "Just Think Bus," which is equipped with computers and professional film makers, will also travel to their community to teach them how to make ward winning films.

Mississippi River Curriculum Trunks for Minneapolis Public Schools

In an effort to connect today's youth with the environment and to make outdoor recreation more accessible, we are building an urban wilderness canoe program through the heart of the Minneapolis/St. Paul metropolitan area--within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

Expand Mount Rainier's 'Camping Adventure with My Parents' (CAMP) Urban Outreach Program

Through partnerships with the Student Conservation Association and other community organizations, the CAMP program will bring families to Mount Rainier National Park. Parents and children who might otherwise never have an opportunity to experience a night in a tent will learn how to set up camp and experience the wonders of the national park.

Roosevelt Rangers: Kid Power Explores FDR's Legacy

The National Mall is joining with Kid Power, Inc., a civics-based organization working with underserved youth in the District of Columbia, to thematically present the history and culture of Franklin Roosevelt's era. Park rangers and Kid Power will both present lessons and conduct hands-on activities;and lead field trips to area national parks that connect to the theme.

Having Our Say: Stories from the Cape Verdean Community

Cape Verdean and Cape Verdean-American experience in New Bedford will conduct interviews with locals about their perspectives on home life, work, music, traditions, role of church, club involvement and extended family relationships from the end of the whaling era to the present day. In addition, the park will engage this community in the interpretation of their history for the broader American public.

Expand Native American Youth Stewardship Program at the North Cascades National Park Service Complex

Native youth from nearby tribes will engage in habitat restoration in the national park and on their reservations. Park staff will visit local reservations, meet with Tribe members and leaders, present information about national parks and assist youth with the design and creation of ethnobotany gardens in the North Cascades National Park and on Tribal reservations.

Mountain Safety and Ecology for Youth from Low Income Families.

Youth from low income families will be introduced to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) and provided with free outings that combine recreation and education in mountain safety and ecology.

In a New Light: Connecting At-Risk Teens to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway through Nature Photography

"In a New Light" will immerse at-risk teens in the beauty of the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway as they embark on a photographic journey of discovery, hope, and healing. Professional nature photographers will empower each participant to tap into their own unique vision as they uncover a camera's capacity for expression, and a production company will enable the children to document each other's artistic and emotional journeys on video.

Ships, Sails and the Sea: Connecting children to their local maritime heritage.

Ships, Sails and the Sea program will offer new innovative and interactive programs for local schools and youth organizations. The goal is to reach underserved diverse youth audiences who live in Essex County and introduce them to their local maritime heritage.

Voices of the Missions: Women's contributions to Mission Life - Oral History and Community

Continuing the San Antonio Missions commitment to gathering oral histories of the local community, the park is now collecting the stories of womens labor and life in the area. Local college students will conduct interviews and record the stories. The project will bring the park and community together for a History Day—a day of gathering oral history in April and a follow-up seminar synthesizing those oral histories collected last August.

Tlingit-Alutiiq Sharing of Cultures

The Sitka National Historical Park seeks to bridge a divide between two nations that played a significant role in the park's history, the Tlingit of Southeast Alaska and the Alutiiq in South-central Alaska. Through the engagement of young people from both nations, the park will facilitate the sharing of important cultural property lost by the Alutiiq and retained by the Tlingit.

Connecting Kids to America's Best Idea in Middle Tennessee

Family Days at Stones River National Battlefield and Murfreesboro Parks, will engage youth through video projects at the parks, photography contests, and a teacher workshop in Metro Nashville.

North Dakota's Best Idea: What Theodore Roosevelt National Park Means to Me

In the spirit of Ken Burns, Theodore Roosevelt National Park and Friends of Theodore Roosevelt National Park will work together to produce a series of short (2–3 minute) digital media productions highlighting the people of North Dakota and their experiences in Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Providing Opportunities for Underserved Youth Populations to Participate in Outdoor Classroom Activities

High School students from West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah will participate in a series of Outdoor Classroom activities through a collaborative effort from the Timpanogos Kids in Nature Work Group consisting of Timpanogos Cave National Monument, the Uinta National Forest, the Utah State Parks, Sundance Nature Preserve, Hutchings Museum, and Thanksgiving Point.

Yosemite National Park In Focus for Youth

The Yosemite National Park in Focus for Youth project forges a new partnership between the Udall Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula and Yosemite National Park in order to bring youth to the park and engage them in the unique resources and heritage of Yosemite. This project seeks to connect youth who have never visited a National Park and build a life-long connection to the national parks.