National Archives Celebrates National Park Service Centennial on August 25
Press Release · Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Washington, DC

Noontime program features film screenings and panel discussion

On Thursday, August 25, 2016, at noon, the National Archives will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service with a special film screening and panel discussion. The program is titled “Places of Healing and Expression: National Parks in the Next Century.” Attendees will have an opportunity to speak to a Park Ranger and view a display of the Organic Act, the legislation that created the National Park Service, before and after the program.

In partnership with the National Park Service, the National Archives will present a screening of short archival and contemporary films about national parks. Following the screening, Julia Washburn, the Associate Director for Interpretation, Education and Volunteers for the National Park Service, will lead a discussion exploring issues of public dialogue and personal meaning in national parks and what this means moving forward into the next century of "America’s Best Idea." Panelists include park ranger and combat veteran Wayne Rogers; Julie Rhoad, Executive Director of the NAMES Project Foundation; Rhonda Schier, Chief of Interpretation at Jefferson National Memorial Expansion Park in St. Louis, MO; and Carol McBryant, National Park Service Relevancy, Diversity and Inclusion Strategist.

The program is free and open to the public. You can reserve your seat online or visit National Archives YouTube channel to watch a live stream.

The program will be held in the William G. McGowan Theater of the National Archives Museum in the National Archives Building, located at Constitution Ave. and 7th Street, NW, in Washington, DC. Metro accessible on the Yellow and Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial/Penn Quarter station. Attendees should enter through the Special Events entrance.

The National Park Service was established in the Department of the Interior on August 25, 1916. There are close to 400 units in the National Park System, including national parks, monuments and memorials, scenic parkways, preserves, reserves, trails, rivers, wild and scenic rivers, seashores, lakeshores, recreation areas, battlefields, parks and sites, national military parks, international historic sites, and historic sites associated with important movements, events, and personalities of the American past. The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the National Parks Service, including photographs by Ansel Adams.

Related online resources:

Blog: “Colorful Chemistry and a Visit to Your National Parks”

Blog: “Majestic Mount Rainier: Finding My Park in the Archives”

Blog: “Happy Birthday, Rocky Mountain National Park”

Blog: “ Kodacolor Decoded: Early Color Footage of Yellowstone National Park.” See related update, Press release, before and after film excerpt

Film excerpt: Glacier National Park/Lassen National Park/Sequoia National Park

Film excerpt: Seeing Yosemite from a Saddle and related National Archives Tumblr post

Film excerpt: Yellowstone Footage Side-by-Side Comparison

Film excerpt: The Fountain of Life: Rocky Mountain National Park

Today’s Document Tumblr feature: “Tinted or toned NPS films in the National Archives Motion Picture Preservation Lab”

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For press information contact the National Archives Public Affairs staff at 202-357-5300.

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