Ana Houseal, a University of Wyoming Science and Math Teaching Center associate
professor and science outreach educator, leads a tour of Orange Spring Mound in Yellowstone
National Park. Houseal will discuss the National Park Service (NPS) system as a classroom
setting during a Harlow Summer Seminar Thursday, Aug. 3, at the UW-NPS Research Station.
The facility is located at the AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park. (Ana Houseal
Photo)
Exploring ideas about lifelong learning within the U.S. National Park Service (NPS)
system is the topic of a Harlow Summer Seminar Thursday, Aug. 3, at the University
of Wyoming-NPS Research Station. The facility is located at the AMK Ranch in Grand
Teton National Park.
Ana Houseal, a UW Science and Math Teaching Center associate professor and science
outreach educator, will present “America’s largest classroom -- what we learn from
our National Parks.” The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with a barbecue, followed by the
6:30 p.m. seminar. The events are free and open to the public, although a $10 donation
is suggested.
Formerly called the AMK Ranch Talk Series, the Harlow Summer Seminar Series is named
after retired UW Department of Zoology and Physiology Professor Hank Harlow, who helped
make the UW-NPS Research Station a significant center for research and community outreach.
Harlow began the popular weekly public seminars during the summer months.
Houseal, in her Harlow talk, says that, from the Golden Gate National Parks, Grand
Tetons and the Great Smokies to Monticello, Civil War battlefields and Japanese internment
camps, students of all ages are learning firsthand -- in motivating and authentic
ways -- about climate change, U.S. history, biodiversity and cultural diversity. She
adds that virtual field trips to the Grand Canyon, Alaska’s Katmai National Park and
more than 40 NPS units became even more popular during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These immersive, place-based experiences also lead learners to reconsider their own
goals and abilities,” Houseal says. “Since educating the whole person should include
experiential learning in local communities, states and regions, our national park
system sites represent our nation’s most significant landscapes, ecosystems and historical
and cultural sites.”
Ana Houseal
In her discussion, Houseal will share case studies and research findings from the
book she co-wrote -- “America’s Largest Classroom: What We Learn from Our National
Parks” -- that was released at the beginning of the pandemic.
Houseal and her team have facilitated responsive K-12 science teacher professional
development throughout Wyoming since 2012, focusing on the implementation of the new
science standards that use place-based phenomena and instructional storylines. Her
work focuses on science education in formal (public schools) and nonformal (national
park) settings.
The UW-NPS Research Station provides a base for university faculty members and government
scientists from around the world to conduct research in the diverse aquatic and terrestrial
environments of Grand Teton National Park and the greater Yellowstone area.
A cooperative effort between UW and the NPS for the past 66 years, the research station
is located on the AMK Ranch historic district on a peninsula extending into Jackson
Lake near Leeks Marina.
