The mission of the Denali Education Center is to promote understanding and appreciation of Denali through informative and inspiring programs.
Our Vision
All who come to Denali enjoy a sense of connection to nature that they share with others.
Our History
Denali Education Center, known as Denali Foundation before 2007, was established by the Denali Park Concessionaire and the Denali National Park Superintendent. Their vision was to create a non-profit to support research in the Park and serve as a meeting place for ideas; where researchers would share their findings with conservation professionals, guides, visitors, and the local community. Denali Foundation was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in November 1989.
We have grown to offer residential education programs in partnership with nonprofit and affinity groups including Road Scholar. These residential programs bring people from far and wide to Denali for a full week of exploring and learning about subarctic plants, animals, and ecology. As support for research in Denali became a top priority for other organizations, our primary focus became educational programming.
2023 will be our 34th season offering residential programs on our Denali Campus. We continue to support the Park through youth programs and educational outreach. Through the years our programs have diversified to include summer camp programs for local youth and at-risk and developmentally challenged youth and adults; naturalist-led day programs for park visitors; and lectures, concerts, and workshops for the local community. In 2020, DEC merged with the Northern Susitna Institute in Talkeetna and opened their Talkeetna Campus facilities in the summer of 2021, providing education and outreach programs in Denali’s southern gateway community.
