Mississippi National River Programs

Our outdoor and online youth education programs are led by the National Park Service and provide a fresh, hands-on approach to the ways learning can be integrated with the outdoors, including empowering students to become avid learners while enabling them to begin building a lifelong relationship with the river.

School Field Trips

Big River Journey
Students view and learn about the river through onboard educational activities while cruising on a modern Padelford riverboat.

Working River
Visit the only waterfall on the Mississippi River at the St. Anthony Falls lock and dam in Minneapolis while also learning about milling and water power.

Winter River
Experience the river during its coldest and most invigorating season featuring snowshoeing, tree ecosystems, and deer habitat.

Take Me to the River
An outdoor skills-based program featuring fire building, geocaching, and structure building.

Online Programs

Big River Journey Online
Working River Online

Partnerships

Canoemobile with Wilderness Inquiry
A youth education and recreation program featuring paddling giant voyageur canoes on the Mississippi River.

Mississippi River Explorers
Live virtual programming from river experts.

Opportunities

River Educators 
Former teachers and other outdoor professionals who put their love for the river into delivering K-12 education programs at various locations along the Mississippi.