1. National Parks Research Project

2. What are National Parks? America's National Parks An Introduction to National Parks - PBS

3. Project Requirements Create a research project that details: –History of your park –Ecology of park (habitat, animals, plant life) –Location and size of park –Weather of park (climate, weather) –Environmental issues –Geology of Park (land)

4. National Parks The purpose of the United States National Parks system is to protect the scenery, wildlife and natural historic objects and to provide for the enjoyment of these same things in such a way as to preserve them for future generations. Currently there are 392 designated national parks that range from the homes of historic figures to the 13.2 million acre national park in Alaska. The first national park was Yellowstone and it was established in 1872 by congress.

5. Are You Ready to Investigate? On your 3x5 card, please –Write your name, both first and last –Select your top 3 National Parks, after perusing several of the links –Write the names of those 3 parks on your card –Turn the card into the science bin for your class period.

6. Denali National Park Everglades National Park Gates of the Arctic National Park Glacier National Park Grand Canyon National Park Grand Teton National Park Great Basin National Park Great Sand Dunes National Park Great Smoky Mountains National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park Guadalupe Mountains National ParkGuadalupe Mountains National Park Haleakala National Park Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park Hot Springs National Park Acadia National Park Arches National Park Badlands National Park Big Bend National Park Biscayne National Park Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park Bryce Canyon National Park Canyonlands National Park Capitol Reef National Park Carlsbad Caverns National Park Channel Islands National Park Congaree National Park Crater Lake National Park Cuyahoga Valley National Park Death Valley National Park Dry Tortugas National Park National Parks List

7. Olympic National Park Petrified Forest National Park Redwood National and State ParksRedwood National and State Parks Rocky Mountain National Park Sequoia National Park Shenandoah National Park Theodore Roosevelt National ParkTheodore Roosevelt National Park Virgin Islands National Park Voyageurs National Park Wind Cave National Park Isle Royale National Park Joshua Tree National Park Kenai Fjords National Park Kings Canyon National Park Kobuk Valley National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park Mammoth Cave National Park Mesa Verde National Park Mount Rainier National Park National Park of American SamoaNational Park of American Samoa North Cascades National Park Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National Park Zion National Park

8. How to Choose: Where have you visited? Where would you like to visit? What park sounds interesting to you? Which park have you heard about and would like to learn more about?

9. Great Sand Dunes National Park

10. Yellowstone National Park

11. Bryce Canyon National Park

12. Grand Canyon

13. Mesa Verde National Park

14. Mammoth Cave National Park

15. Olympic National Park

16. Denali National Park

17. Capitol Reef National Park