Watkins Tim, Miller-Rushing Abraham J, Nelson Sarah J
Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, National Park Service, 849 C Street NW, Mail Stop 2647, Washington, DC 20240, USA.
Acadia National Park (US National Park Service) and Schoodic Education and Research Center, Winter Harbor, ME 04693, USA.
Integr Comp Biol. 2018 Jul 1;58(1):67-76. doi: 10.1093/icb/icy025.
The USA has set aside over 400 national parks and other protected areas to be managed by the National Park Service (NPS). Collectively, these sites attract over 300 million visits per year which makes the NPS one of the largest informal education institutions in the country. Because the NPS supports and facilitates scientific studies in parks, the national park system provides abundant opportunity for biologists and other scientists to engage global audiences in learning, exploring, and even conducting science. Those opportunities are best pursued through collaborations among scientists and the professional communication staff (interpreters, educators, media specialists, etc.) of parks and their partner organizations. This article describes unique opportunities and rationale for such collaborations, presents several examples that highlight the range of activities and lessons drawn from them, and invites scientists to conduct studies in parks and bring their science into the public eye.
美国已划出400多个国家公园和其他保护区，由国家公园管理局（NPS）管理。这些场所每年总共吸引超过3亿人次参观，这使国家公园管理局成为美国最大的非正规教育机构之一。由于国家公园管理局支持并促进公园内的科学研究，国家公园系统为生物学家和其他科学家提供了大量机会，让全球受众参与学习、探索甚至开展科学活动。这些机会最好通过科学家与公园及其合作伙伴组织的专业传播人员（口译员、教育工作者、媒体专家等）之间的合作来实现。本文描述了此类合作的独特机会和基本原理，列举了几个例子，突出了一系列活动以及从中吸取的经验教训，并邀请科学家在公园开展研究，让他们的科学成果进入公众视野。
