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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
