Education Programs

Whether you are looking for ways to add spark to your lessons or searching for hands-on activities in an environment rich with history, art, and natural wonders, you will find it in Central Park.  Take advantage of the Central Park Conservancy's exciting education programs. Come see where history was made. Observe the parts of a flower up close. Supplement your ecology unit with a visit to a real ecosystem. Learn the story of America's first landscape architects.

The Central Park Conservancy's knowledgeable Park educators help you discover New York's premier outdoor classroom through various programs geared to students from ages 5 to 95.  To explore some time-tested activity plans and good advice from those of us who have taught in Central Park for years, click here.

Central Park Across The Curriculum: The Central Park Across the Curriculum (CPAC) program provides teachers with a training and enrichment specialty workshop series.  During each of our eight specialty workshops, which will cover topics including Trees & Flowers, Animals, Earth Science, Water Bodies, History & Social Studies, and Art & Design, teachers will experience a replicable hands-on activity in the Park and receive content-rich, teacher-friendly materials ready for use in the classroom.  If you have any questions about CPAC, please call 212-360-1403 or e-mail cpac@centralparknyc.org. Please click here for a Spring 2008 CPAC Teacher Training Flyer.

Central Park Scholars: The Central Park Scholars program is an exciting Saturday enrichment program for 7th through 9th grade students and is the result of meaningful collaborations between the Conservancy and its cultural partners, the Black Rock Forest Consortium, City College Architectural Center, and the Museum of Arts and Design.The Scholars Program is specifically designed for students who could benefit from more individualized attention, an alternative learning environment, and opportunities for success in creative, academic, physical and group endeavors.  In the Scholars program, students are given the opportunity to build academic skills and foster an excitement for learning through direct exploration, examination, and experimentation in our outdoor classroom -- Central Park.  Scholars program sessions also include recreation, team-building, and community service activities, as well as Park and museum-based activities for participants and their families. 

We are currently recruiting students who will be in the seventh, eighth, or ninth grade in Fall 2008.  For an application, click here.  For more information, please call 212-360-1460 or e-mail scholars@centralparknyc.org. You can also visit the Central Park Scholars program's MySpace page.

Education for School Groups: Central Park's landscapes, wildlife, water bodies, and ecosystems are New York City's premier outdoor classrooms. The Conservancy's education programs make maximum use of the Park's resources for study across the subject areas. Instruction is innovative, hands-on, and inquiry-based. Pre- and post-visit classroom activities enhance students' learning, both in the Park and in the classroom. The fee for each 90-minute class is $50; click here for a list of classes offered. For more information or to register, please call 212-360-1470. 

Community Service Programs: Free opportunities are available for middle- and high-school-aged youth groups to participate in an ongoing ecological restoration project in the Hallett Nature Sanctuary.  For more information, please click on Community Service. 

Youth Leadership Programs:   The Central Park Conservancy's Youth Leadership Programs provide a fun way for high school students (ages 14 - 19) to learn about the environment, meet teens with similar interests, discover the variety of career opportunities that are available in the areas of parks and recreation, develop leadership skills, and foster a sense of stewardship for Central Park and other natural environments.

Youth Leadership Programs meet school community service requirements.  All programs require regular attendance, two days per week for the entire session.  Successful participation in these programs may even lead to a full-time summer job.  For more information, please click on Youth Leadership Programs. 

Virtual Park Children's Education: Through the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy, virtual field trips of Central Park are available for grades 1 through 3.  For more information, please click on Children’s Education.

The Central Park Scholars Program is generously supported by Altman Foundation and Time Warner Inc.

Additional support for the Conservancy’s Education and Youth Leadership Programs is provided by: Fund for the City of New York; NYCT - Wallace Special Projects Fund; The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation Inc.; William E. Weiss Foundation; Barker Welfare Foundation; The Pumpkin Foundation/Joe & Carol Reich; W.P. Carey Foundation, Inc.; The Samuel & Rae Eckman Charitable Foundation; Mae Goffe; Levin/Goffe Family Foundation; Alan & Katherine Stroock Fund; and Oceanic Heritage Foundation.