On Tuesday (June 30), first lady Michelle Obama will host the first-ever White House Campout as part of the Let’s Move! Outside initiative.
According to a written announcement, the Campout is co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior and will celebrate the National Park Service (NPS) Centennial as well as Great Outdoors Month. The Campout will take place in one of the most historic backyards and National Parks in the Nation — the White House South Lawn.
As Honorary National President of Girl Scouts of the USA, the first lady will welcome 50 fourth-grade Girl Scouts to participate in activities to earn their camper badges and to celebrate the release of the new girls’ choice outdoor badges. The Girl Scouts will engage in both new and traditional outdoor activities, including rock-wall climbing, knot tying, orienteering, and tent pitching. Later that evening, the participants will be joined by NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, who will join a stargazing activity led by NASA staff and scientists on the south lawn before the girls settle in for the night.
Let’s Move! Outside was created to encourage children and families to take advantage of America’s great outdoors — which abound in every city, town, and community. Through public-private partnerships and in conjunction with all levels of government, the interior department leads Let’s Move! Outside to inspire millions of young people to play, learn, serve and work outdoors.
As part of the centennial celebration of the NPS, in which the first lady serves as honorary co-chair, President Barack Obama launched the “Every Kid in a Park” initiative. This new initiative calls on each agency to help get all children to visit and enjoy the outdoors and inspire a new generation of Americans to experience their country’s unrivaled public lands and waters.
Starting in September, every fourth-grader in the nation will receive an “Every Kid in a Park” pass that’s good for free admission to all of America’s federal lands and waters — for them and their families — for a full year.
