Adventure Physical Education

What is Adventure Physical Education?

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Adventure Physical Education gives students a chance to deviate from a typical in-classroom environment.  It allows them to get outdoors, challenge themselves, build teamwork, problem solve, and become leaders both in and out of the classroom.  These objectives can be met through various activities such as ropes courses, team building activities, climbing walls, and orienteering.  This website serves to take a closer look at these four activities. 

History of Adventure Activities in Schools

Outdoor Organized Activities got its start in the late 1800's and early 1900's in Europe, the USA, and Australia.  The Scouting movement, established in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell, employs non-formal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities.  Outward Bound was one of the first outdoor education organization developed in Wales during the Second World War. It was created based on the principles of teaching British Seaman to survive at sea.

During the second half of the century Outdoor Education grew rapidly throughout the United States with the first US Outward Bound program starting in 1961 in Colorado. Other programs that swept across the country included Project Adventure and National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Project Adventure's mission is to "develop responsible individuals, productive organizations, and sustainable communities" through unique outdoor adventure expeditions. The NOLS is designed specifically to use the outdoors to train individuals in technichal outdoor skills, leaderaship and environmental ethics.

In today's society Adventure Activities are being included in classroom curriculum across the country. This includes everything from basic outdoor survial lessons, team building activities, ropes courses, and climbing walls