National Park Scouts

This is part 2 of our Congaree National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Congaree National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Forest that Floods on Purpose
Part 2: The Race for the Light
Part 3: Lights Out in the Swamp
Part 4: War Zone on the Mosquito Meter

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Deep in the swampy, pitch-black forest of Congaree National Park, thousands of fireflies are blinking against the dark, and a scientist is crouched in the mud holding up a tiny LED light. Today, we go into the night to discover how fireflies nudge their internal clocks to lock into a single rhythm. But here's the best part: while scientists have figured out how these bugs flash together, nobody on Earth fully knows why they do it! Grab your red-light flashlights and get ready for a swamp showdown, a hidden animal call, and a dark-room family Scout Mission!

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ If you could build a fake signal to communicate with any animal: a light, a sound, a smell, anything. Which animal would you pick, and what would your signal say?

Thank you Laura Erickson for providing the mystery park sound today!

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 2 of our Congaree National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Congaree National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Forest that Floods on Purpose
Part 2: The Race for the Light
Part 3: Lights Out in the Swamp
Part 4: War Zone on the Mosquito Meter

Imagine starting your life deep in the dark, muddy shade of a swamp, racing thousands of tiny neighbors for a single patch of sunlight way up high! Welcome to Congaree National Park, home to the Tree Olympics and more record-breaking champion trees than anywhere else in North America. Today, we meet a pine with the best name growing in the mud, learn the unsolved mystery of Bald Cypress "knees," and find out why Sweetgum wood is actually tougher than pure gold. Plus, discover how muddy swamp water stopped loggers in their tracks and saved this incredible forest twice! 

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Say Loblolly three times fast!

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 1 of our Congaree National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Congaree National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Forest that Floods on Purpose
Part 2: The Race for the Light
Part 3: Lights Out in the Swamp
Part 4: War Zone on the Mosquito Meter

How does a forest flood on a warm, sunny day without a single drop of rain nearby? In this episode, we solve the mystery of the disappearing forest floor. Kids get to venture deep into South Carolina’s wild floodplain forest to learn how rain falling over a hundred miles away travels down mountains to trigger a slow-motion flood. Along the way, we'll chat about the many animals that have adapted to this wet and swampy lifestyle.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ What animal would you like to be to escape a flood? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 4 of our Yosemite National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Yosemite National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Waterfall That Turns to Fire
Part 2: El Capitan's Impossible Climb
Part 3: Half Dome's Crazy Crack
Part 4: The Great Gray Owl

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What wears a giant winter coat, has lopsided ears, and dives headfirst into two feet of snow? Meet the Great Gray Owl, Yosemite’s quietest and rarest resident.🦉

While the landscape gets a lot of the attention in Yosemite, an incredible owl that lives no where else on Earth hides in the shadows. The Great Gray Owl is the tallest owl in North America AND one of the rarest. 

Discover how lopsided ears turn this featherweight bird into a snow-diving super-hunter, test your ears with a game of Guess Who's Hunting, and think about what it would be like to see this elusive bird swoop silently by.

Thank you to the Institute of Bird Populations for providing us with our park sound today. Visit IBP to learn about their work protecting and researching the Great Gray Owl. 🦉

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Have you heard an owl hoot before? What do you think it would be like to fly silently in the dark? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 3 of our Yosemite National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Yosemite National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Waterfall That Turns to Fire
Part 2: El Capitan's Impossible Climb
Part 3: Half Dome's Crazy Crack
Part 4: The Great Gray Owl

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Think you know how Yosemite’s most famous landmark was made? Think again! Almost everyone (including many grown ups!) think a massive glacier sliced Half Dome clean in half like an apple. We love busting myths around here, so join us while we discover what ACTUALLY HAPPENED to Half Dome!

Discover how a single underground crack, a glacier "ice bulldozer," and a process called "onion-peeling" shaped this iconic mountain. Plus, play a game of "Guess That Park Sound" and see who wins the ultimate face-off: El Capitan or Half Dome!

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ What would you take with you on a hike up Half Dome? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 2 of our Yosemite National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Yosemite National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Waterfall That Turns to Fire
Part 2: El Capitan's Impossible Climb
Part 3: Half Dome's Crazy Crack
Part 4: The Great Gray Owl

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Imagine holding on to the side of a rock wall, with no ropes to catch you! Today, we scale the side of El Capitan, the most famous rock wall on the planet.⛰️

From the original climbers who took 45 days to reach the top, to Alex Honnold's unbelievable four hour climb, discover why this massive vertical cliff has captured the imagination of adventurers for generations. 🧗‍♂️

Kids will learn how a process that took over a hundred million years deep underground created a giant, unbroken block of granite with almost no cracks or weak spots. 

Thank you to Lauren Harter for providing us with our park sound today.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ How do you feel about heights? Would you like to try rock climbing yourself one day? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 1 of our Yosemite National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Yosemite National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Waterfall That Turns to Fire
Part 2: El Capitan's Impossible Climb
Part 3: Half Dome's Crazy Crack
Part 4: The Great Gray Owl

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Yosemite National Park is one of the most iconic and famous parks in the whole park system. Today, we dive right in to the science behind the legendary Horsetail Fall Firefall. It's a mind-blowing 10-minute phenomenon that requires snow melt, clear skies, and precise sunlight to pull off. From there, we take a look at the "waterfall neighborhood" of Yosemite Valley. Why are there so many here? And what makes them special? 

Parents, buckle up because we are doing all the 'ology's. Hydrology, Glacieology Geology are all required to make a valley of amazing waterfalls. We make it fun and break it down in a kid friendly way so that when you visit Yosemite, you know exactly how all these amazing places got there!

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Would you rather see Yosemite Falls while it's a roaring monster? Or a quiet trickle? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 4 of our Sequoia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Sequoia National Park for kids:
Part 1: General Sherman - The Largest Living Thing on Earth
Part 2: Giant Caves Beneath the Giant Trees
Part 3: The High-Flying Frog Rescue
Part 4: Higher than High - Mount Whitney

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Can a mountain spend millions of years hiding underground before it ever sees the sky? 🏔️✨

In our Sequoia National Park series finale, we go 14,505 feet up to the peak of Mount Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48 states! 

Discover how ancient heat, tectonic plates, and ice-age glaciers worked to reveal this massive mountain. Along the way, we’ll learn why the top of the mountain is exploding in slow motion and hear the funny true story of the three local fishermen who beat a team of famous scientists to the summit!

Thank you to Michael Morris; Cornell Lab of O​rnithology | Macaulay Library for providing us with our park sound today.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ What would you look for from the top of Mt. Whitney? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 3 of our Sequoia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Sequoia National Park for kids:
Part 1: General Sherman - The Largest Living Thing on Earth
Part 2: Giant Caves Beneath the Giant Trees
Part 3: The High-Flying Frog Rescue
Part 4: Higher than High - Mount Whitney

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Get ready to climb way up into the high mountain lakes of Sequoia National Park!🏔️ Today, we meet an extreme animal: the mountain yellow-legged frog.🐸 This tiny creature can survive under the freezing ice for nine months out of the year.

But when two sneaky villains; a hungry non-native fish and a mysterious microscopic fungus threaten to wipe them out completely, a team of superhero scientists step in. Discover how national parks and local zoos teamed up for an epic rescue mission that involves special frog baths and an actual helicopter 🚁 !

Thank you to Carlos Davidson and Tim Ziesmer for their research on the Southern Mountain Yellow Legged Frog and sharing their call with us today.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Have you seen a frog in the wild? Talk about it! 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 2 of our Sequoia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Sequoia National Park for kids:
Part 1: General Sherman - The Largest Living Thing on Earth
Part 2: Giant Caves Beneath the Giant Trees
Part 3: The High-Flying Frog Rescue
Part 4: Higher than High - Mount Whitney

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Most people visit Sequoia National Park to look up at the world's biggest trees, but did you know there is a massive, hidden world right beneath your boots? 🥾🔦 Grab your headlamp because we are going down into the dark to explore 240 secret marble caves!

Meet the creatures that exist nowhere else on earth and learn why they lose their color and eyes. Hear the memory trick for stalactite and stalagmites and find out how the cave is built, drop by drop!

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Do you like caves? Would you go in one? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 1 of our Sequoia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Sequoia National Park for kids:
Part 1: General Sherman - The Largest Living Thing on Earth
Part 2: Giant Caves Beneath the Giant Trees
Part 3: The High-Flying Frog Rescue
Part 4: Higher than High - Mount Whitney

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Sequoia National Park is the land of the biggest. Biggest trees, biggest mountain, and plenty of big caves. We kick off our series climbing General Sherman the largest living thing on Earth! Discover how this giant Sequoia Tree has survived for 2,200 years. We dig in to the armor, bug spray, and how something that looks like a hot disaster actually helps sprout new trees.

Thank you to Neighborhood Naturalist for generously sharing their park sound with us today. Check out their website or youtube to learn more.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Would you rather see the biggest tree, the tallest tree, or the oldest tree and why? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 4 of our Acadia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Acadia National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Fastest Animal on Earth
Part 2: Written in Rock
Part 3: Tide Superpowers & Sea Creature Superstars

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Acadia National Park is known for it's gorgeous fall colors🍂🍁. BUT, these colors weren't supposed to be there.... In 1947, a fire blazed through Mount Desert Island and burned the park to the ground. You’ll meet the brave local fishermen who sailed out into the dark, smoky night to rescue trapped families by boat, and discover how nature used a this event to pull off an incredible trick: rebuilding a dark, green forest into a blazing wonderland of bright red maples and yellow birch trees.

Parents & Educators: Wildfires can sound scary, but today’s episode is all about the helpers and the ultimate comeback story! We use the historic 1947 Acadia fire to teach kids about ecological succession—how nature rebuilds itself after a major change. It’s a fantastic, kid-friendly look at forest biology and community resilience that aligns with elementary science standards (NGSS). Feel free to read the transcript on my website if you need to vet it for your child.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Have you seen a recently burned forest? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 3 of our Acadia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Acadia National Park for kids coming soon:
Part 1: The Fastest Animal on Earth
Part 2: Written in Rock
Part 4: The Fire That Changed Everything

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This episode covers a LOT, so put on that life vest! Imagine standing on a narrow gravel path with cold Atlantic water rushing in from both sides, covering the ground faster than you think 🌊. Welcome to Acadia’s coastline, where nothing stays still!

We dive deep in to tides and tidal creatures with superpowers. You think you have weird neighbors? Wait until you hear about the housing swap 🐌 , the creature that eats with it's feet, and the inside out digestion. Stay for the end when we learn about the key feature of Acadia that explodes💥!

Parents & Educators: This episode is perfect for kids ages 6–12 and covers key Earth Science and STEM concepts including tidal physics, how the moon's gravity pulls the ocean, and the wild world of marine animal adaptations.

THANK YOU to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Mammal Rescue Society for sharing their audio of harbor seal pups. Visit their website to preview these cute seal pups and adopt one today!

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ What's your favorite tide pool creature?

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 2 of our Acadia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Acadia National Park for kids coming soon:
Part 1: The Fastest Animal on Earth
Part 3: Tide Superpowers & Sea Creature Superstars
Part 4: The Fire That Changed Everything

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Ever wanted to be the very first person in the country to see the sunrise? Today we do just that on top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park!

In this episode, we dig into the pink rocks under our feet to uncover a 420-million-year-old mystery. Discover why Acadia is shaped like a failed volcano, how a mile-thick wall of solid ice completely remodeled the park, and why there is a 28,000-pound gray boulder balancing on the edge of a pink cliff. 

Loon audio graciously provided by Dr Jay Mager of Ohio Northern University.

Parents & Educators: This episode is perfect for kids ages 6–12 and covers key Earth Science and STEM concepts including geology (igneous rock formation), glaciology (how glaciers reshape landscapes), and animal adaptations.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ If you could go anywhere to watch the sunrise, where would you go?

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 1 of our Acadia National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Acadia National Park for kids coming soon:
Part 2: Written in Rock
Part 3: Tide Superpowers & Sea Creature Superstars
Part 4: The Fire That Changed Everything

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What animal is faster than a race car, a sky diver, or any living thing on Earth? Answer: The Peregrine Falcon 🦅

Join us on the cliffs of Acadia National Park while we check out this bird that's designed like a fighter jet. We cover the Peregrine's super powers that keep it alive at the record speed of 242 miles per hour, the invisible chemical threat that almost wiped them out completely, and the genius comeback plan that brought Peregrine Falcons back to the east coast.

Parents & Educators: This episode is perfect for kids ages 6–12 and covers key STEM concepts including food chains, animal adaptations, and environmental conservation.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ If you could name the next Peregrine Falcon chick, what would you name it?

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 3 of our Bryce Canyon National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Bryce Canyon National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Hoodoo Capital of the Earth
Part 2: The Secret Language of Prairie Dogs

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Climb over 9,000 feet to meet something that was alive before the pyramids were built - The Bristlecone Pine! At over 1,600 years old, this scraggly looking tree thrives at conditions where not much else can survive. 

These awesome trees also have a special partnership with a bird that also boasts a record for having the best memory - the Clarks Nutcracker! Tune in to our kids national park podcast to learn about how these two thrive at Bryce Canyon National Park.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ If you needed to hide food for winter, what food would you hide and where would you hide it?

The park sound was provided by Renee from All Things Birdie. Check out her youtube channel for more fun bird videos. 🕊️

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 2 of our Bryce Canyon National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Bryce Canyon National Park for kids:
Part 1: The Hoodoo Capital of the Earth
Part 3: Ancient Giants and the Secret Map

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Squeak! Bark! 🐾 You might think the giant rock hoodoos are the only stars of Bryce Canyon, but today, we’re looking at the little guys. Prairie Dogs are the keystone species of the park. Join us and learn why as explore their "towns" in this super fun kids podcast.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ If you could understand what any animal was saying for just one day, which animal would you pick?

The park sound was provided by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Macaulay Library

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 1 of our Bryce Canyon National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Bryce Canyon National Park for kids:
Part 2: The Secret Language of Prairie Dogs
Part 3: Ancient Giants and the Secret Map

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Imagine a forest where the trees are made of glowing orange rock. Welcome to Bryce Canyon National Park! 

In this episode, we get to meet Bryce Canyon for the first time. We find out why it has the most hoodoos than anywhere else on Earth. And... what is a hoodoo anyway? Did you know ice can break solid stone? This park might be one of the smallest, but it's mighty in it's own way.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards that go along with this kids podcast.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 3 of our Canyonlands National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Canyonlands National Park for kids:
Part 1: A Crater, a Mesa, and a Mystery
Part 2: The Last Blank Map and the One-Armed Man Who Filled it In 

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What if I told you that the dry, dusty "potholes" in Canyonlands National Park are actually full of life? Yes, it's true. Prehistoric shrimp live in those holes in the sandstone! 

Tadpole shrimp were here before the dinosaurs and somehow survive decades without any water. Listen in as find out about their "secret trick" to staying alive.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ Tadpole shrimp is a pretty boring name for the oldest animal around! If you could rename it, what name would you give it?

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 2 of our Canyonlands National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Canyonlands National Park for kids:
Part 1: A Crater, a Mesa, and a Mystery
Part 3: The Shrimp That Outlived the Dinosaurs

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Could you navigate 1,000 miles of uncharted river with only one arm?

No one knew where the Green River and Colorado met. Legend had it that no one ever came back from seeing it. John Wesley Powell said, I'll find out! In this episode on Canyonlands National Park, we meet the one-armed Civil War hero who braved the rapids and named everything you see in the park. See the Confluence, where the rivers run two different colors, hear the roar of the rapids and Buckle up for the crazy expedition, this episode is full of adventure!

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

🏕️ If you discovered a brand new canyon today, what would you name it and why? Tag us on social media or visit our website to let us know!

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 1 of our Canyonlands National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Canyonlands National Park for kids:
Part 2: The Last Blank Map and the One-Armed Man Who Filled it In
Part 3: The Shrimp that Outlived the Dinosaurs

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Meet Canyonlands National Park - one of the most remote and wild places in the lower 48 states. Today, we take an adventure though an unsolved mystery. There's a giant crater in Canyonlands, but how did it get there? Listen to the theories and decide for yourself! Join us as we look through the rock layers in Island of the Sky in this kids national parks podcast.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? Big thanks to Michael Just of Dawn2Dawn Photography for supplying our park sound today!

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 4 of our Rocky Mountain National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Rocky Mountain National Park for kids:
Part 1: Carved by Ice and the Great Divide
Part 2: Trail Ridge Road and the Boy Who Saved a Mountain
Part 3: Pika Survival Secrets

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Colorado's official state animal is built for the impossible. From balancing on two inch wide ledges, jumping twenty feet between cliff faces, to their incredible head on collisions, we cover this bighorn sheep from head to foot. Did you know their horns grow their entire lives? Did you know their thundering battles can be heard from a mile away? Tune in to hear it!

Rocky Mountain National Park has 350 of these amazing animals and we get to break down what makes these so animals extraordinary. This kids national park podcast is perfect for your next adventure.

 🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 3 of our Rocky Mountain National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Rocky Mountain National Park for kids:
Part 1: Carved by Ice and the Great Divide
Part 2: Trail Ridge Road and the Boy Who Saved a Mountain
Part 4: Bighorn Sheep Battle on the Peaks

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Think the Rocky Mountains are inhospitable? Think again. Meet the Pika: the alpine tundra’s most adorable and busiest resident. Today, we’re heading into the peaks to hear their cute little mountain eeeps and see their tiny hay piles in action. From freezing temperatures to relentless winds, we’re exploring how nature adapts to live where most wouldn’t dare. Grab your parka—it’s time to go above the clouds!

 🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for kids national park coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

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This is part 2 of our Rocky Mountain National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Rocky Mountain National Park for kids:
Part 1: Carved by Ice and the Great Divide
Part 3: Pika Survival Secrets
Part 4: Bighorn Sheep Battle on the Peaks

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Let's drive the highway to the sky and thank the sick 14 year old from Kansas who fought for Rocky Mountain National Park. Yes, it's true. A teen arrived in Colorado, loved guiding hikes to the top of Long's Peak and worked tirelessly to preserve Rocky Mountain National Park. Join the adventure as we wind our way from the base of the mountain in the open forest up to the tippy top of the continent. We watch water flow down on both sides of the Continental Divide and gaze in awe at the views from the windswept tundra. 

Thank you to the Northern Colorado Wildlife Center for sharing their park sound with us today. You can view the cute creature here and visit their website to learn about the wonderful work they do.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for kids national park coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

**Episode note! There ARE higher paved roads in the US. This is the highest CONTINUOUS paved road. I did not note the other paved roads in the episode and wanted to present it here for clarity.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

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This is part 1 of our Rocky Mountain National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Rocky Mountain National Park for kids:
Part 2: Trail Ridge Road and the Boy Who Saved a Mountain
Part 3: Pika Survival Secrets
Part 4: Bighorn Sheep Battle on the Peaks

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Dramatic peaks, feet upon feet of snow, glaciers, alpine lakes, and an invisible line that divides the country. Stand with us on the Continental Divide and watch how the water flows to two different oceans. In this episode, we trace the thread of water. Through glaciers, this park is carved and molded. Melted snow run-off fills the lakes and streams that make this park beautiful. AND we talk about how the Colorado River, the river that carves the Grand Canyon, begins in a surprising way.

🎒Scout mission included! Experience our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for kids national parks coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 4 of our Great Smoky Mountains National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Great Smoky Mountains National Park for kids:
Part 1: Ancient Peaks, Blue Mist, and 300 Million Years
Part 2: Fireflies at Dark
Part 3: Salamander Capital of the World

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Most famous resident of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park? The Black Bear. In this episode, we learn all about black bears. Find out how big they are, how fast they are, how SMART they are and... what they like to eat! There's lots of bear eating in this show, because hyperphagia is what bears are known for and comes before hibernation! Or do bears actually hibernate? You'll find out what they actually do and how those cute little cubs are born in the middle of winter.

🎒Scout mission included! Find out our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? 

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for kids national parks coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 3 of our Great Smoky Mountains National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Great Smoky Mountains National Park for kids:
Part 1: Ancient Peaks, Blue Mist, and 300 Million Years
Part 2: Fireflies at Dark
Part 4: The Black Bear

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Whats small and slimy and so so fun for kids to find? Salamanders of course! Listen to this episode on Great Smoky Mountains National Park and find out why so many different salamanders live here. Next, we meet two special salamanders. One thats really big with a ton of fun nicknames and one thats really small and has a special trick.

🎒Scout mission included! Find out our fun mission thats great for trips or the backyard with your family.

Can you guess the mystery sound? This animal is saying something, see if you can figure it out.

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for kids national parks coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 2 of our Great Smoky Mountains National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Great Smoky Mountains National Park for kids:
Part 1: Ancient Peaks, Blue Mist, and 300 Million Years
Part 3: Salamander Capital of the World
Part 4: The Black Bear

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Could anything feel more like summer than fireflies? Listen in to learn how fireflies work, what makes synchronous fireflies so special, and where you can see them at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Did you know some fireflies are different colors? Some flash at different times, some make shapes while they flash! Are fireflies even a fly?

🎒Scout mission included! Tune in to find out our fun mission thats great for trips or backyard family time.

Can you guess the mystery sound? It's not what you might think 😉

Visit nationalparkscouts.com for kids national parks coloring pages, word searches, and bingo cards!

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 1 of our Great Smoky Mountains National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Great Smoky Mountains National Park for kids:
Part 1: Ancient Peaks, Blue Mist, and 300 Million Years
Part 2: Fireflies at Dark
Part 3: Salamander Capital of the World
Part 4: The Black Bear

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Why are the Great Smoky Mountains National Park so smoky? And why is it the most visited park? Find out whats up with all that smoke, why this park has so many plants and animals, and five reasons this park is the most visited in the national park system. 

Need an idea of some fun places to visit that are great for kids and families? In the episode, I mention Laurel Falls, Kuwohi Dome, the Appalachian Trail & Newfound Gap, Cades Cove, and Cataloochee Valley.

Can you decode our mystery sound? Thank you to the North American Bear Center for sharing their sounds with us today!

🎒Scout mission included - great for families to do together!

As always, visit our website https://nationalparkscouts.com for kids national parks coloring pages, word finds, and bingo cards.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 4 of our Pinnacles National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Pinnacles National Park for kids:
Part 1: A Volcano Broke Apart and Walked Away
Part 2: Thousands of Bats Under the Rocks
Part 3: Bee Capital of the World

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What would you do if there were only twenty-two left in the entire world?

The California condor is the largest flying land bird in North America. It has a super important job in nature that keeps the landscape healthy. Once this enormous bird owned the skies from British Columbia to Baja California, and then it almost disappeared forever. In this episode, we find out how the condor population crashed, why scientists made the risky decision to capture every last wild condor, and why Pinnacles National Park is their perfect home.

🎒 Scout Mission included! Great for family time outdoors, hikes, roadtrips and of course, visits to Pinnacles National Park. 

Complete your mission and tell us about it. Have a grown-up help you share your findings at nationalparkscouts.com. We might share your report on a future episode!

Can you guess this episode's Mystery Sound?

National Park Scouts, where curious kids discover America's wildest places.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 3 of our Pinnacles National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Pinnacles National Park for kids:
Part 1: A Volcano Broke Apart and Walked Away
Part 2: Thousands of Bats Under the Rocks
Part 4: California Condors Back from the Edge

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What if the most important animals in a national park were so small you didn't even notice them?

Pinnacles National Park has nearly five hundred species of bees, more per acre than almost anywhere else on Earth. In this episode, we find out why so many bees call this one small park home, what happens when thousands of ladybugs blanket a rock in red and black, and we meet two bugs that live here and almost nowhere else in the world. One of them is so small you'd never notice it, but functions as the park's water quality expert.

🎒 Scout Mission included! Great for family time outdoors, hikes, roadtrips and of course, visits to Pinnacles National Park. 

Complete your mission and tell us about it. Have a grown-up help you share your findings at nationalparkscouts.com. We might share your report on a future episode!

Can you guess this episode's Mystery Sound?

National Park Scouts, where curious kids discover America's wildest places.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 2 of our Pinnacles National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Pinnacles National Park for kids:
Part 1: A Volcano Broke Apart and Walked Away
Part 3: Bee Capital of the World
Part 4: California Condors Back from the Edge

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What if thousands of bats were living right beneath your feet and you had no idea?

Pinnacles National Park is home to at least 14 species of bats, and some of them are hiding in places you'd never expect. In this episode, we meet the Townsend's big-eared bat. This bat has ears almost as long as its entire body! 

Find out why bats matter way more than most people realize. You'll learn how bats hunt using sound alone, why some moths have evolved to fight back, and what one mysterious fungus is doing to bat populations across the country.

🎒 Scout Mission included! Great for family time outdoors, hikes, roadtrips and of course, visits to Pinnacles National Park. 

Complete your mission and tell us about it. Have a grown-up help you share your findings at nationalparkscouts.com. We might share your report on a future episode!

Can you guess this episode's Mystery Sound?

National Park Scouts, where curious kids discover America's wildest places.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram

This is part 1 of our Pinnacles National Park podcast series. Check out our other episodes on Pinnacles National Park for kids:
Part 2: Thousands of Bats Under the Rocks
Part 3: Bee Capital of the World
Part 4: California Condors Back from the Edge

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What happens when half a volcano slides 200 miles away and leaves crazy caves behind?

Welcome to Pinnacles National Park, one of the least-visited parks in America that is hiding some big surprises. In this episode, we explore how Pinnacles was born from an ancient volcano that split in two. You'll find out why these rocks don't match anything around them, what happens when giant boulders pile up, and why scientists had to figure out where the rest of this volcano went. Plus, you'll discover what talus caves are and what makes this park one of the most surprising in the whole national park system.

🎒 Scout Mission included! Great for family time outdoors, hikes, roadtrips and of course, visits to Pinnacles National Park. 

Complete your mission and tell us about it. Have a grown-up help you share your findings at nationalparkscouts.com. We might share your report on a future episode!

Can you guess this episode's Mystery Sound?

National Park Scouts, where curious kids discover America's wildest places.

Hey Scouts! Review & subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. It's the best way for others to find the show too. Thank you for supporting National Park Scouts! 🌲⛺

https://nationalparkscouts.com/

Amazing music from Sheb3ar

Find National Park Scouts on Instagram