NPS Photo

Ranger and group on cave tour

Wind Cave National Park is opened all year and teachers can bring students for a regularly scheduled cave tours any time. Teachers may request a program that supports a particular classroom objective for any of the cave tours.  Reservations can be made by call the park at 605-745-4600. Teachers may also plan "just for fun" field trips to the cave by calling the park.

Curriculum Based Environmental Education Programs

Connections, the environmental education program at Wind Cave National Park, helps students discover relationships between the mixed-grass prairie, the ponderosa pine forest, the cave, the plants and animals that live in these environments and themselves. The program can be used to reinforce classroom studies and can be adjusted to coincide with particular school subjects. There are no fees to participate in this program.

In the outdoor classroom of Wind Cave National Park students are involved in structured, hands-on learning activities that reveal how ecological principles and natural processes work in nature. The Connections program encourages critical thinking skills and cooperative learning experiences. 

The program introduces specific ecological concepts using activities that awaken enthusiasm, focus attention, allow for direct experience, and encourage students to share inspiration. These concepts increase in complexity with grade levels and are designed to match children's developmental stages.

The Connections program is offered during late April through the middle of May. Once reservations are made, educators receive an informational packet describing the grade specific concept, curriculum objectives, pre- and post-visit activities, and a vocabulary list.