Skip the Trip - Rangers in Classroom

Park ranger pointing as 4th-grade students raise hands in a classroom, a powerpoint on a screen
If your site is in range, Paterson Great Falls may be able to send a ranger to your classroom!

NPS

 

Skip the Trip - Rangers in Classrooms

Can't make it to Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park with your class? Looking for a pre-park visit activity? Consider one of the in-class programs listed below!

Please Note:We can accommodate offsite presentations within 25 miles and 45 minutes driving distance of the park. Outside of our travel range? We offer virtual programming as well!

Health & Safety: We are following guidance from the CDC and state/local health authorities when sending park staff into classrooms, and may request social distancing or masking accommodations based upon virus transmission levels.
 
A corner table & the walls behind it hold historic photos, newspaper clippings, & artifacts highlighting Paterson's railroad, silk, & aircraft industries, such as a loom shuttle, spool of thread, engine parts, a rotary snowplow model, & a golden spike.
A planned city of industry, Paterson's factories produced an unimaginable array of products which helped shape the nation.

NPS

Program Offerings:

Wear It, Ride It, Fly It: Industry in Paterson

Appropriate for 4th - 8th grade - high school adaptations may be available. Please specify age range and focus when reserving so we may best match your curriculum and visitation needs.

Primary matched curriculum standards:
6.1.2.Geo.HE.4, 6.1.2.EconNE.1, 6.1.12.HistoryCC.6.b, 6.1.12.HistoryCA.11.a, 6.1.5.HistoryUP.1, 6.1.5.GeoGI.4, 6.2.12.HistoryCC.3.[a]b

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As the first planned industrial city in the United States, Paterson NJ is incredibly innovative! With this program, explore Paterson's role in the Industrial Revolution and discover how the natural world inspired a founding father, entrepreneurs, immigrants, poets and artists to build the nation's first industrial city and changed the world

Students will learn how the vision of Alexander Hamilton led to the establishment of the country's first planned city of industry, about the struggles and successes of Patersonian workers, and about the highlights of the textile, locomotive, and airplane engine industries. This program includes a "grab-bag" activity; students will work in groups to determine how mystery items in their bags were used in Paterson's factories.

 
A tall, thin white great egret hunts with long neck bent along a river shore as a brown female mallard duck swims past - a plastic water bottle, an old white croc sandal, and other trash are visible as signs of pollution that need to be cleaned
The Passaic River is the literal lifeblood of the cities & the environment it flows through - a resource with both thriving wildlife and pollution in need of remediation and prevention.

NPS

Testing the Waters

Appropriate for 4th - 8th grade - elementary, high school, and college/adult adaptations may be available. Please specify age range and focus when reserving so we may best match your curriculum and visitation needs.

Primary matched curriculum standards:

Social Studies: 6.1.2.HistoryCC.3. Science: HS-ESS3-1, 6 K-ESS2-2, K-2-ETS1-1, 4-ESS2-1, 4-ESS3-1. ELA/Literacy: RI.4.3


This 45-minute environmental science program invites students to examine the health of the river that feeds the Great Falls, exploring ecology and water quality.

A presentation briefly discusses the industrial history of Paterson, the role that natural resources played in the creation of the city, and the hardships pollution created as a result of manufacturing. Students then work in groups to test several water samples from the Passaic River, and discuss their results.

 
A yellow America the Beautiful interagency public lands pass with an image of a young girl looking at plants with a magnifying glass
The Every Kid Outdoors program fosters an appreciation of our nation's natural & historic resources, with a free, special parks pass to jumpstart their public lands adventures!

NPS

Every Kid Outdoors (EKO)

This program is only for 4th grade students.

Primary matched curriculum standards:
Social Studies
: 6.1.12.GeoHE.13.a:, 6.1.12.EconET.3.a


Learn the special role played by the National Park Service in preserving our shared natural, cultural, and historical heritage! Completion of this program entitles fourth grade students to a free one-year pass to National Park sites.

This program highlights the special roles played by the National Park Service in preserving our shared natural, cultural, and historical heritage. Students will learn about their backyard National Park - Paterson Great Falls - and how the park's themes tie into the larger story of the U.S. Industrial Revolution. A hands-on drawing activity encourages students to consider what themes and ideas represent themselves and what they care to preserve and protect. Teachers will be instructed in printing special Park Passes for each of their students, which allow them and their families free access to all Federal parks, lands, and waters through August 31, (when they begin their fifth grade year).

Learn more about the Every Kid Outdoors program

 
Two park rangers stand at the front of an auditorium, a screen displaying different animals found in national parks, as young students sitting on the floor look on and teachers watch from the side
Explore the wide variety of natural and historical wonders National Parks preserve across the country with the introductory "Our National Parks" program!

NPS

Our National Parks

Appropriate for 3rd grade and younger - for 4th grade, please reserve the "Every Kid Outdoors" program. Please specify age range when reserving so we may best match your student's level of focus.

Primary matched curriculum standards:
Social Studies: 6.1.12.EconET.3.a, 6.1.12.GeoHE.13.a


This presentation includes an overview of our country's National Parks and Paterson's connections to them.

Explore what it means to be a National Park and what park rangers do in parks by exploring the symbols of the NPS Arrowhead. A hands-on drawing activity encourages students to consider what themes and ideas represent themselves and what they care to preserve and protect.

 

Reservation Information

If you would like to request a reservation for any of these education programs, please fill out our Program Reservation Request Form as soon as possible to ensure your place in the queue.

 
 

Rangers In the Classroom

NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Disclaimer:

A park representative will follow-up to confirm group details once this request has been received and reviewed.


NPS Form 10-1750 (Rev. 04/2021)
National Park Service

OMB Control No. 1024-0228
Expiration Date 11/31/2025

Notices

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Public Law 114-289 National Park Service Centennial Act and 54 U.S.C. 100701 Protection, interpretation, and research in System.

Purpose: To administer education programs for education audiences including but not limited to school groups, scouting groups, extracurricular groups, and home school groups.

Routine Uses: To effectively manage requests for education received by the NPS, the Education Reservation Request Form is used to collect basic education reservation information to facilitate operational aspects of scheduling groups for park education programs, including in-park education programs, ranger in classroom programs, and/or online distance learning programs.

Disclosure: Voluntary, however, failure to provide the requested information may impede the ability to grant your education reservation request.

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement

We are collecting this information subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501) to provide park managers and educators the information needed to schedule and conduct education program activities. All applicable parts of the form must be completed in order for your request to be considered. You are not required to respond to this or any other Federal agency-sponsored information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. OMB has approved this collection of information and assigned control number 1024-0288.

Estimated Burden Statement

Public reporting for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Information Collection Clearance Officer, National Park Service, 1201 Oakridge Drive, Fort Collins, CO 80525. Do not send your completed form to this address.

Last updated: July 13, 2024

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

72 McBride Avenue Extension
Paterson, NJ 07501

Phone:

973-523-0370

Contact Us