Nature, parks, and shared family exploration
Outdoor learning that starts with curiosity and ends outside
Children can browse 541 national, state, and local places, heart the parks they want to explore, alert a parent inside the app, and build a shared Travel Wish List. Each park carries place-specific observations rather than one generic checklist.
Independent learning resource: HomeSchool.You is not affiliated with the National Park Service or a state or local park agency. Families must use the managing agency for current conditions, closures, reservations, accessibility, wildlife rules, and permitted routes.
How the family loop works
- Child discovers: search or browse the park catalog by place, state, or region.
- Child hearts: mark a place they want to explore with the family.
- Parent sees: receive an in-app alert and review the child’s Travel Wish List.
- Family plans: choose timing together and check the official managing-agency page.
- Learning goes outside: print or open the place-specific hunt, observe safely, and save memories in the park passport.
Explore parks by U.S. region
Northeast (112)
Explore coasts, forests, mountains, industrial history, and early U.S. history through real parks in the catalog.
Southeast (130)
Explore wetlands, barrier islands, forests, caves, biodiversity, and civil-rights history through real parks in the catalog.
Midwest (80)
Explore Great Lakes shorelines, dunes, forests, river systems, and regional history through real parks in the catalog.
Great Plains (70)
Explore prairie ecology, grasslands, badlands, fossils, bison, and Indigenous history through real parks in the catalog.
Southwest Desert (39)
Explore desert adaptations, canyons, geology, night skies, and water scarcity through real parks in the catalog.
Pacific Northwest (20)
Explore temperate rainforests, volcanoes, coastlines, salmon, and glacial landscapes through real parks in the catalog.
California (17)
Explore redwoods, deserts, granite mountains, coasts, and ecological variety through real parks in the catalog.
Mountain West (42)
Explore alpine environments, geothermal features, canyons, wildlife, and public lands through real parks in the catalog.
Tropical U.S. (21)
Explore volcanoes, coral reefs, tropical forests, island ecology, and Pacific or Caribbean history through real parks in the catalog.
Arctic & Subarctic (10)
Explore tundra, glaciers, northern wildlife, seasonal light, and Alaska Native history through real parks in the catalog.
Public place-specific examples
Acadia National Park
Rocky coastline meets forested mountains on a beautiful island in Maine. Watch waves crash and climb Cadillac Mountain!
Baxter State Park
Home to Mount Katahdin, the tallest mountain in Maine and the northern end of the Appalachian Trail. Wild moose roam the forests!
Everglades National Park
A vast wetland wilderness where alligators, manatees, and hundreds of bird species live in a river of grass that stretches to the sea.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
America's most visited national park, where misty blue mountains stretch to the horizon, black bears roam old-growth forests, and synchronous fireflies put on a magical light show.
Shenandoah National Park
A long mountain park along the crest of the Blue Ridge where Skyline Drive winds through forests that explode with color in fall, black bears munch on berries, and waterfalls tumble through rocky hollows.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park
A green valley between Cleveland and Akron with waterfalls, towpaths, and a scenic railroad that winds through forests and wetlands.
Hocking Hills State Park
A magical park in southern Ohio filled with caves, waterfalls, and towering cliffs carved from ancient Blackhand Sandstone.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Massive sand dunes tower 450 feet above Lake Michigan, with crystal-clear water, ghost forests, and two wilderness islands to explore.
Badlands National Park
Dramatic striped rock formations and wide-open prairies where fossils from ancient creatures are still being discovered today.
Custer State Park
A huge state park in the Black Hills with a famous herd of 1,300 bison and scenic drives through tunnels and past granite spires.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Colorful painted canyons and rugged badlands where President Theodore Roosevelt ranched in the 1880s and fell in love with the American West.
Grand Canyon National Park
One of the most famous natural wonders on Earth, the Grand Canyon is a mile-deep gorge carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. Kids can peer over the rim and see layers of colorful rock that tell the story of our planet.
Nature and outdoor courses
🦁 Amazing Animals
Explore incredible creatures and their habitats around the world!
🐙 Oceans Deep
Dive into the mysterious underwater world of our oceans!
🌱 Environmental Stewardship
Turn science into care: learn Earth systems, ecosystems, biodiversity, food webs, habitats, water, air, waste, plastic, energy, climate, resilience, oceans, forests, soil, justice, citizen science, restoration, green design, and stewardship planning.
🌾 Agriculture, Gardening & Food Systems
Explore food as a living system through farms, gardens, seeds, soil, plant needs, garden planning, compost, pollinators, crops, herbs, farm animals, weather, pests, tool safety, harvest, supply chains, workers, food waste, sustainable farming, mini-garden design, and a food systems capstone.
🧭 Outdoor Survival & Navigation
Build calm outdoor competence through trip planning, weather awareness, clothing layers, hydration, food, Leave No Trace, map symbols, compass basics, natural direction clues, trail choices, getting lost safely, shelter, fire safety, knots and gear, outdoor first aid, wildlife safety, terrain and water crossings, emergency signals, stewardship, and a supervised mini-expedition capstone.
🌎 Earth Science & Geology
Build Earth science literacy through Earth systems, minerals, rocks, the rock cycle, plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, landforms, weathering, erosion, soil, fossils, geologic time, maps, topography, water, groundwater, rivers, coasts, resources, climate clues, hazards, fieldwork, stewardship, and a geologist capstone.
Activities that move learning off screen
Bike, Scooter, and Helmet Safety
35 minutes · Parent help · Body & wellness
Sports Fuel
45 minutes · Parent help · Body & wellness
Sun Defender: Skin & UV Safety
45 minutes · Parent help · Body & wellness
Water Safety: Pools, Lakes, and Oceans
35 minutes · Parent help · Body & wellness
Collage Art
20 minutes · Parent preview recommended · Creative learning
Junior Photographers
25 minutes · Parent help · Creative learning
Nature Art Collection
25 minutes · Parent help · Creative learning
Paper Airplane Workshop
20 minutes · Parent help · Creative learning
Photography Safari
25 minutes · Parent help · Creative learning
Printmaking Press
30 minutes · Parent help · Creative learning
Watercolor Wonders
25 minutes · Parent preview recommended · Creative learning
Boat Engineering
25 minutes · Parent help · Engineering
Earthquake Shake Table
25 minutes · Parent help · Engineering
Egg Drop Challenge
25 minutes · Parent help · Engineering
Emergency Water Filter Design Challenge
20 minutes · Parent help · Engineering
Engineering Site Visit
60 minutes · Parent help · Engineering
Insulation Station
25 minutes · Parent help · Engineering
Parachute Lab
25 minutes · Parent help · Engineering