Cultural History

Explore resources related to the formation of our national parks and associated landmarks, the anthropological and archeological histories of our wild places, and a general overview of the cultural history of each of the national parks in which our campuses are located.

Lesson Plans

Mapping it Out
Let your students remember the grand landmarks and memories of a field trip outdoors by creating a map of where they traveled during the week. Combine their paths with written highlights and pictures taken along the way. This map can be a great way to share your trip with parents and/or donors.

Online Resources

National Park Foundation - America’s Best Idea

A Brief History of National Parks

National Parks Conservation Association - History in the Parks

History of the National Park Service:  A collection of short essays and online books concerning different aspects of the history of the National Park Service

Golden Gate National Recreation Area
National Park Service: The Marin Headlands are home to historic structures, including military installations from 1776 to the Cold War, Native American history, and documented landscapes and artifacts.

Olympic National Park
National Park Service: Olympic National Park is full of cultural and historic sites that tell the human story of the park from a 12,000-year-old hunter’s spear to the present day.

Oh Ranger: Learn about the people of the Olympic Peninsula.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
National Park Service: Learn about the people who have shaped the Santa Monica Mountains and information about the archaeological and anthropological collections available from the National Park Service.

Channel Islands National Park
National Park Service: The Channel Islands have attracted many explorers, scientists and historians. Learn more about the people, places, and stories of the Channel Islands.

Recommended Reading

M is for Majestic: A National Parks Alphabet, by David Domeniconi and Pam Carroll
Mighty mountains, wild rivers, fiery volcanoes, huge glaciers, vast forests, tropical islands -- all part of our national parks, belonging to you and me. This magnificent ABC book showcases each of America's national parks from Acadia and American Samoa to Yosemite and Zion. California travel writer David Domeniconi masterfully includes each of the more than 50 National Parks in this A-Z pictorial. Illustrator Pam Carroll's keen attention to detail makes this title one for everyone across the land to read and enjoy.

John Muir: America’s First Environmentalist, by Kathryn Lasky and Stan Fellows
Quoting from John Muir's diaries, Kathryn Lasky tells the inspiring tale of one of America's most dedicated environmentalists, aided by Stan Fellows's evocative, dramatic acrylic paintings.

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared M. Diamond
In this "artful, informative, and delightful" (William H. McNeill, New York Review of Books) book, Jared Diamond convincingly argues that geographical and environmental factors shaped the modern world. Societies that had had a head start in food production advanced beyond the hunter-gatherer stage, and then developed religion -- as well as nasty germs and potent weapons of war -- and adventured on sea and land to conquer and decimate preliterate cultures. A major advance in our understanding of human societies, Guns, Germs, and Steel chronicles the way that the modern world came to be and stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Club of California's Gold Medal.

A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson
One of the world’s most beloved and bestselling writers takes his ultimate journey -- into the most intriguing and intractable questions that science seeks to answer.