A Place at the Park: Exhibit Opening

We are proud to announce the opening of the “A Place at the Park” exhibit which features In My Backyard youth intern reflections on what national parks could be. The park will host a grand opening event on Pioneer Square’s First Thursday, October 3rd from 6 pm – 8 pm.

Youth volunteers and young adult interns have worked with park staff on every aspect of In My Backyard (IMBY) programming from design projects to curriculum development. IMBY is now in its second year of its high school programming! This summer, the program hosted 14 youth interns (ages 13-18). The youth represented 12 different zip codes, contributed more than 830 volunteer hours and helped with six community outreach events as youth representatives of the National Park Service. For each week of the nine week program, park staff would facilitate a field trip for interns to a community partner, such as the Duwamish Longhouse, Seattle Art Museum and Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and a day of reflection for the youth to discuss their experiences. The summer program centered around the overarching question posed by program leaders to the youth: What would your ideal national park be like? A main goal of this approach was two-fold: to give youth the space to express their experiences and opinions and to give the NPS the opportunity to listen and learn from its next generation of visitors, workforce and supporters.

Ranging from safety issues to a sense of community, the students’ ideas challenged what current perceptions about what national parks are and also reaffirmed what they would like to continue to see. The students expressed these parks using art, photography, storytelling, videos and more! The students’ parks and their work will be featured in Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park’s exhibit space as the park’s newest exhibit “A Place at the Park” from October 3 to December 2, 2019. We hope you will join us in discovering how youth create a sense of belonging in their ideal national parks and celebrating youth perspectives on what national parks could be!

Follow along through social media on Instagram @inmybackyard_nw and In My Backyard’s Facebook for behind-the-scenes glimpses at our exhibit design and our journeys this summer!