Date: April 17, 2017
Contact: Rhonda Schier, 314-655-1634
Contact: Jenna Todoroff, 636-530-1235
Park Rx was founded on the idea that parks can be gateways to good health – providing fun, accessible places to engage in physical activity, as well as relax and enjoy time with family and friends. Park Rx goes hand-in-hand with National Park Service’s “Healthy Parks, Healthy People” program, which reframes the role of parks and public lands as an emerging, powerful health promotion strategy.
“With brand-new trails and bike paths weaving through the Gateway Arch park grounds, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial is full of ways that people can improve their physical, spiritual and emotional well-being,” says Rhonda Schier, Chief, Museum Services and Interpretation, Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. “It is important for visitors to realize that the national park experience in Downtown St. Louis extends far beyond the walls of the Gateway Arch and Old Courthouse. In reality, it encompasses nearly 91 acres of park lands, where they can enjoy a bike ride or a simple ‘walk in the park’ in an urban park setting.”
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial will join other St. Louis institutions at the St. Louis Earth Day Festival at the Muny Grounds in Forest Park, Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. National Park Service rangers will be on hand at the event to talk with visitors about the Park Rx program, and encourage them to get outside and visit the revitalized Gateway Arch park grounds, which recently celebrated its grand re-opening. Medical students from St. Louis University will also join the Park Service in talking with visitors about the health benefits of our local parks.
For more information about Park Rx, visit http://parkrx.org.
ABOUT:
The Gateway Arch and the Old Courthouse are part of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, located on the riverfront in downtown St. Louis. The Gateway Arch Visitor Center features The Arch Store and Monument to the Dream documentary movie. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the winter. The Old Courthouse, which features restored courtrooms and gallery exhibits about the Dred Scott trials, westward expansion and early St. Louis, is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The park is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The Courthouse is located at 11 North Fourth Street, St. Louis, MO 63102. Programs are free and made possible by the generous support from Jefferson National Parks Association and Bi-State Development.
