Desert Biodiversity Topic of National Park Foundation Virtual Field Trip

The National Park Foundation, in conjunction with National Geographic, is hosting a live, Web-hosted virtual field trip open to students and teachers around the world. The National Park Foundation is the charitable partner of the United States National Park Service.

The one-hour field trip will take place at Saguaro National Park and will focus on biodiversity in the desert. The live event, to be held Oct. 21, will be the 14th such virtual field trip in the last six years. Past topics, which are archived on the organization's site, have included visits to parks and historic sites with themes ranging from geology and the environment to the American Civil War.

Desert Diversity: A BioBlitz at Saguaro National Park will include a live broadcast of the field trip, along with lesson plans and other resources for K-12 teachers, including educational games and links to related outside educational resources.

As the NPF described it: "This Electronic Field Trip ... coincides with the National Geographic Society-National Park Service fifth annual BioBlitz. Part scientific endeavor, part festival and part outdoor classroom, the Saguaro National Park BioBlitz will bring together more than 150 leading scientists and naturalists from around the country, thousands of local citizens of all ages, and more than 2,000 students from the greater Tucson area. By partnering with the National Park Foundation, students from around the country and the world will be able to take part in this unique learning experience."

The virtual field trip will broadcast live at two separate times Friday, Oct. 21--once at 1 p.m. Eastern and again at 4 p.m. Eastern. Registration is free. Additional details, along with links to archived virtual felid trips, can be found at the Electronic Field Trip site.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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