Education is an important mission of World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. Pacific Historic Parks supports the development of educational programs in cooperation with the National Park Service.

The objective of PHP in supporting Park Service educational programs is to promote an understanding of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent War in the Pacific, while helping to provide a greater appreciation of the people involved in that critical history.

Some of the opportunities include:

School Group Interpretive Tours

School groups are encouraged to visit World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, featuring the USS Arizona Memorial, as a way to provide students with hands-on learning experiences.

To schedule a school group visit, please contact the Pacific Historic Parks Education Specialist, Steve Kooiman.

Audio Tour

The story of Pearl Harbor is filled with incredible tales of courage and perseverance, and the World War II Valor in the Pacific Audio Tour brings these stories to life.

For a nominal fee, students can rent an MP3 audio headset that takes them to over 20 destinations and provides explanations of the various artifacts and displays found at the USS Arizona Memorial. Teachers can preview the audio tour by navigating to the Interpretive Tours web page and clicking on Student Audio Tour. For access to the complete audio tour script, please contact our Education Specialist for the password.

USS Arizona Memorial Junior Ranger Guidebook

The somber and tragic events of the attack on Pearl Harbor can be difficult for children to understand. Pacific Historic Parks and the National Park Service created the Junior Ranger guidebook for children 7 to 12 years old. The primary purpose of the booklet is to guide young students through the events of the Pearl Harbor attack. The booklet features activities, including Opana Radar Station, Battleship Row, Code-Breaking Magic, Wartime Civilian Life and Memorials and Memories.

A copy of the booklet can be obtained for free at the visitor center's front desk. Upon completion of the booklet, young visitors receive an honorary National Park Service Junior Ranger badge. Teachers can request a sample copy of the Junior Ranger Guidebook for classroom use by contacting the Education Specialist. A second, expanded adventure booklet is available for sale in the park bookstore or online.

Witness To History Distance Learning Program

For those who are not able to visit this national park, the Witness to History videoconferencing program provides students and educators, nationally and internationally, with a unique and invaluable distance-learning opportunity dedicated to the history of December 7, 1941.

Click on the link above for more information.

Professional Development for Teachers

Teachers are the key to perpetuating the history and memory of Pearl Harbor. It is for this reason that Pacific Historic Parks emphasizes professional development for teachers. In partnership with the National Park Service and the Hawai‘i Council for the Humanities, Pacific Historic Parks is sponsoring the World War II in the Pacific: Exploring Hawai‘i and Pacific Island Perspectives using Primary Sources Summer Workshop for Hawai‘i public and private K-12 teachers. The goal of this workshop is to enable teachers-via tours, panel presentations, and hands-on discussion sessions-to explore the causes and effects of the Pacific War by examining three types of primary historical sources: 1) historic sites; 2) oral histories; and 3) documents, photographs, and artifacts..

Click on either of the links above for more information and to apply for the workshop.