There's a long history to national park souvenirs, going all the way back to the 1870s when folks broke off pieces of travertine in Yellowstone National Park to take home. Next week, if you're in Grand Teton National Park, you'll be able to learn about the long history of souvenir collecting in the parks during a special program.
Dr. Ken Barrick will offer a special lecture titled, "National Park Souvenirs: Taking Home the Sacred," at 6:30 p.m. on July 3 in the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center auditorium in Moose. This program is free and open to the public.
Souvenirs played important roles in the development of the National Park concept. The earliest souvenirs were objects collected from nature such as pinecones and rocks. Manufactured souvenirs, sold in gift shops, protected natural objects by providing visitors with a keepsake to take home as a memento of their park experience.
Today, many national park visitors participate in the tradition of purchasing souvenirs as a tangible representation of powerful memories of park places and experiences. The rich history of these keepsakes will be examined including many rarely seen examples from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.
Dr. Barrick, an associate professor of geography at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, has been doing research in the Rocky Mountains for 25 years, including studies in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.