ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Social Studies Videos 18 videos

Social Studies 4: Landform Creation and Changes
75 Views

Mountains can be formed by plates colliding and stacking on top of each other. And no, we're not just referring to the "mountains" your mom yelled...

Social Studies 4: Landforms
130 Views

Today we're going to get your butte into gear and teach you all about land forms. Yes, including buttes.

Social Studies 4: What Do Maps Do?
835 Views

Well...not really anything to be honest. They just kind of lay there. If they moved and did things on their own, that'd be pretty alarming. Oh, but...

See All

Social Studies 4: Creation of the National Park Service 18 Views


Share It!


Description:

It turns out people actually like seeing the wilderness rather than turning it into sprawling cityscapes. Go figure. Today's lesson is on the creation of the National Park Service.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

[Dino and Coop singing]

00:13

If you've ever camped in the wilderness, hiked to the top of a mountain, or run frantically [Man roasting marshmallows]

00:17

from a ferocious and honey-crazed black bear... [Man running from a bear]

00:20

…chances are you've probably spent time in one of America's National parks.

00:23

Or else you live in a really interesting subdivision. [Sign for 'Bear Creek']

00:27

Officially-designated National Parks haven't always been a thing. [National park locations shown on a map]

00:30

They’re actually the product of the National Park Service, which was created with the purpose

00:33

of protecting American landforms and bodies of water. [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

00:37

Mostly from…Americans, sadly enough. [Girl next to tree that has 'Casey was here' carved into it]

00:39

The very first National Park to be established by the National Park Service very well might

00:44

be the most famous one of them all...

00:46

Yellowstone National Park.

00:48

Like Jellystone Park, but with fewer stolen picnic baskets.

00:52

Yellowstone was officially created in 1872 with the purpose of protecting the land for

00:54

[Yellowstone park location]

00:56

future generations to enjoy.

00:58

Assuming Yellowstone's volcano doesn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed any time soon… [Volcano smoking next to a bed]

01:02

The National Park Service was created by President Woodrow Wilson, who worried that, without

01:07

official protection…

01:08

…it wouldn't be long before America ran out of natural beauty for visitors to admire.

01:12

That’s not counting Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, of course. [Woodrow Wilson giving a speech]

01:16

Preserving land for tourism isn't the only thing the National Park Service does.

01:19

They also assist in scientific research. [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

01:22

National parks give scientists access to protected land where climate, biomes and ecosystems [Scientists watch a bear poop]

01:27

can be observed. [The scientists look amazed and write notes]

01:28

The NPS also helps cities and towns protect their own historic landmarks so that tourists

01:32

can enjoy them.

01:33

Whether it's San Francisco's Alcatraz Island and its famous Alcatraz Prison… or Mark [Picture of Alcatraz]

01:38

Twain's boyhood home in Hannibal, Missouri…or the world’s largest donut in Inglewood,

01:42

California…

01:43

… the NPS will preserve it all.

01:45

Okay, maybe not the donut. [Stop sign appears over the giant donut]

01:47

National Parks can be found across the country in all four regions of the United States.

01:51

There’s Yellowstone in the West, Big Ben National Park in the South, Apostle Islands [The parks locations are shown]

01:56

National Lakeshore in the Midwest, and Arcadia National Park in the North.

02:00

So the next time your family wants to start planning the next vacation, why not suggest [Kid pointing at the map of national parks]

02:04

a nearby national park instead of something cliché and crowd-heavy, like a cruise or

02:09

Disneyland?

02:10

You don’t need a Fast Pass to observe nature…

02:11

And if you go down a waterfall that's pretty much like flash mountain... [Boy jumping off a waterfall]

Related Videos

ELA 4: How Words Can Help
1205 Views

Sticks and stones, right? Well...only sometimes. It's a good idea to make sure your words aren't going to hurt others. Let's look at some ways to d...

ELA 4: Debating Like a Champ
744 Views

Learn to debate like a champ. It's way better than debating like a chimp. That just takes mudslinging to a whole new level.

ELA 4: Types of Biographies
277 Views

Today we'll learn about biographies and autobiographies. And no, the second one has nothing to do with the lives of cars. 

ELA 4: Complete Sentences
775 Views

In this lesson we'll subject you to some verbs and predicates. Each one is a necessary part of a complete breakfas—er...sentence.

ELA 4: Word Choice
222 Views

Choosing words carefully is important. You may end up vexing the assemblage of citizens you're conversing with...or you might even just plain bore...