Summer Interlude #1

​Let's Talk About Why We Do This

The story of STEAM in the PARK actually begins about ten years ago with a simple idea. Steve and I believed that some of the best classrooms in America didn't have four walls. They had mountains, rivers, forests, coastlines, deserts, and stories waiting to be discovered. We wanted to help students and educators connect with public lands in meaningful ways and see these places as living classrooms.

Over the years, that idea grew into Expeditions in Education. We began traveling the country, partnering with national parks, working alongside rangers, and helping connect students to places they might never have the opportunity to visit. Again and again, we saw how powerful it was when learning moved beyond textbooks and into the real world.

Then came the pandemic.

As we talked with educators across the country, we heard a common theme. People were tired. Not because they didn't love teaching, but because they cared so deeply. They were supporting students, families, and communities through one of the most challenging periods in education while often putting their own needs last.

One evening, we found ourselves asking a simple question: Who takes care of the educators?

That question became STEAM in the PARK.

We didn't want to create another conference or another professional development event. We wanted to create something that felt different. We imagined educators gathering in some of the most beautiful places in America to learn from park rangers, scientists, historians, artists, and one another. We imagined campfires, conversations, laughter, exploration, and the kind of learning that reminds people why they fell in love with education in the first place.

Six years later, more than 1,500 educators and college students have joined us. Together, we've partnered with more than 50 national park sites and public lands and gathered in places like Acadia, Glacier, Olympic, Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain, Voyageurs, Yosemite, Grand Teton, Golden Gate, Assateague Island, and many more.

The parks are incredible, but they aren't the reason people come back.

The people are.

Every summer, we watch strangers become friends. We watch educators share ideas, encourage one another, and discover that they are not alone. We hear stories around campfires, on trails, at breakfast tables, and during ranger programs. We watch people arrive carrying the weight of a long school year and leave feeling lighter, more connected, and more hopeful.

One camper told us, "I came for the park, but I left with a family." Another shared, "This week gave me back a piece of myself that I didn't realize I'd lost." Perhaps our favorite comment is one we hear almost every summer: "I found my people."

That's why we do this.

We believe educators deserve opportunities to learn, explore, and be inspired. We believe they deserve time to reconnect with their curiosity, their creativity, and their sense of wonder. Most of all, we believe they deserve to be cared for just as much as they care for everyone else.

Ten years ago, we dreamed about connecting people to parks. Six years ago, STEAM in the PARK was born from the belief that parks could also help reconnect people to themselves.

Every summer, Steve and I find ourselves flying from park to park, camp to camp, carrying supplies, telling stories, building community, and welcoming educators into places that have become incredibly meaningful to us. It's a lot of airports, a lot of logistics, and a lot of miles, but every time we watch a camper rediscover their spark, we're reminded exactly why we started.

Because when educators thrive, students thrive.

And that's a mission worth flying across the country for.

— Dacia & Steve Jones