Yellowstone’s Division of Interpretation is divided into three components:
Division of Interpretation Org Chart
The goal of the Planning and Media Branch is to encourage the development of a personal stewardship ethic and broaden public support for preserving park resources. Interpretive rangers present Yellowstone to visitors through formal interpretation, such as campfire and evening programs, talks, walks, hikes, and demonstrations; and through informal interpretation, including roving patrol, wildlife-induced traffic jam contacts, winter warming hut contacts, and junior ranger programs. Yellowstone’s interpretive media infrastructure encompasses approximately 500 existing and planned outdoor exhibits, 41,000 square feet of existing and planned indoor exhibits, 100 publications, audiovisual systems in campground amphitheaters and visitor centers, a radio and TV broadcast system, and a collection of 78,000 still images and 1,400 hours of video.
The District Operations Branch’s rangers manage and staff the park’s five primary visitor centers (Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Grant Village, Mammoth, and Old Faithful), four information stations (the Madison Museum, Museum of the National Park Ranger, Norris Geyser Basin Museum, and West Entrance contact station) and, during winter, four warming huts (Canyon, Fishing Bridge, Madison, and West Thumb).
The Formal Education Branch develops and presents curriculum-based programs for a wide audience of students, teachers, and the public. The park offers eight different education programs: Exploring Yellowstone/ParKids, an experiential, outdoor education, summer day program; Expedition: Yellowstone!, a residential education program for 4th through 8th grades; Camp Wildness, a high school field camp; Windows Into Wonderland, electronic field trips via the Internet; a day-use program serving local school groups; a day-use program for non-school groups (Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H programs, Elderhostel, and teachers); and curriculum-based teacher workshops.
