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Wind Cave Uses Tech To Engage Young People In The Outdoors

National Park Service

Officials at Wind Cave National Parkare finding ways to engage young people in outdoor activities with the use of technology.  Wind Cave held a find your park video contest for middle school students.  The contest encouraged young people to submit videos of their experience in the park. 

Two middle students from Hot Springs tied as winners of the find your park video contest at Wind Cave. 

The winning videos are on the park's Facebook page.

The contest was held in conjunction with the Hot Springs Middle school tech strategies class.  Tom Farrell with Wind Cave says events like this are a way to get people of all ages interested in the outdoors.

"Shows you that national parks are for people of all ages.  You don't just have to be a grown up to come out and enjoy a national park.  This is an 8th grade class that came out and use their skills to capture their memories find the heart of a park and bring it home and make it into a short little video," says Farrell.

Farrell says park officials are encouraging more public participation over the summer for the 100 anniversary of the Park Service  

"We definitely hope will celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service be going out and finding your park.  Doesn't have to be just a national park could be a state park or a county park.  But we definitively hope people will come out and visit. We have a lot of parks in South Dakota we have a variety of themes and stories to tell and it's just a wonderful thing to come out and do," says Farrell.

 National parks in South Dakota are holding a number of events throughout the spring and summer to engage visitors and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the parks service.