ENGAGING THE NEXT GENERATION IN SCIENCE INTERNSHIPS IN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

The National Park Service runs a number of natural resource science internship programs. The Geoscientists-in-the-Parks and Mosaics in Science Internship Programs, administered by the NPS Geologic Resources Division in partnership with The Geological Society of America, offer a large number of geoscience and other science projects. Program objectives include providing on-the-ground education and career development experience, engaging persons that not typically represented in these natural resource career fields, and completing meaningful science projects in national parks. Internships range from research, inventory and monitoring, to education and outreach projects. This presentation will focus on the details of each program, provide a retrospective of the exciting projects that have been done over the past 20 years, discuss the future direction for both programs, and describe many other ways youth 18 – 35 years old can be engaged in critical science projects with the National Park Service.