This September PBS will air a new documentary series from Ken Burns about America’s National Parks. Over the course of six episodes the series will showcase America’s National Parks. The series documents the history of the National Parks and the challenges facing America’s National Parks. If you’re like me and cannot wait for the series to air, you can view fifteen video segments on the PBS website right now. The series preview video is twenty-five minutes long while the other videos are much shorter.

As a promotion for the National Parks Service and the PBS series, PBS is running two contest this summer and fall. The video contest asks contestants to create a video of their experience at any national park. The winners of this contest receive a trip to any park of their choice. The photo contest asks for submissions of photos taken at any national park. The winners of that contest receive camera equipment and their winning photo will appear on the 2011 national parks pass. If you’re not sure if there is a national park in your area, check out the National Parks layer in Google Earth.

Applications for Education
When the series airs in the fall the PBS website will be adding a section of National Parks profiles. These park profiles would be good to have students read before having them explore the National Parks layer built into Google Earth.

Here are some related resources that may be of interest to you:
Create a National Parks Virtual Tour
Every Trail, The Grand Canyon, National Parks
Google Street View is Now Easier to Navigate