Special Programs Celebrate National Park Service 100th Anniversary

Posted By Matt Artz on August 16, 2016

Thursday, August 25, 2016 is National Park Service Founders Day and the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the National Park Service! Superintendent David Hallac invites the public to experience their national park sites on the Outer Banks; Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Special Founders Day programs will be offered at each site, and entrance to Wright Brothers National Memorial will be free August 25–28.

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, creating the National Park Service. This year’s centennial celebration will be a time for all Americans to celebrate their national park sites—places that connect us to our histories and our environment . . . places that promote mental, physical, and spiritual health . . . places that enliven the human spirit.

The parks of the Outer Banks Group are part of a vast network of sites protecting our natural and cultural heritage from coast to coast. Join a ranger on August 25 to explore the last 100 years of the National Park Service, and look forward to the agency’s future during a Meanings of the National Park Service program (20 minutes) at:

11:00 am at the Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center,
12:00 pm at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site Visitor Center,
1:00 pm at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Ocracoke Visitor Center,
1:30 pm at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Hatteras Island Visitor Center Pavilion,
3:00 pm at the Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, and
3:30 pm at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Bodie Island Visitor Center.

For a listing of additional activities scheduled for Founders Day, go to https://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/news/16_049.htm.

The National Park System has been described as “the best idea America ever had.” National parks are critical to protecting the Earth and are connected to a global conservation community. They reveal a comprehensive national identity, connecting us to ourselves and each other. For more information on the NPS Centennial, go to http://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/index.htm.