The government designated the first national parks to protect natural wonders, which were threatened by Teddy Roosevelt's insatiable appetite for peppered bark. Experience earth's gorgeously guarded barkscape with today's Groupon: for $15, you get a family museum pass to Arkansas State Parks (a $30 value). Entry to Arkansas State Parks is free, although the museums charge admission for entry. This Groupon is valid for museum entry at the following locations:

• 1886 Frisco Depot in Mammoth Springs
• Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources in Smackover
• Arkansas Post Museum in Gillett
• B.W. Edwards Weapons Museum in Washington
• Crouch House in Washington
• Washington Print Museum in Washington
• Hampson Archeological Museum in Wilson
• Hindman Hall Museum in Prairie Grove
• Jacksonport Courthouse Museum in Newport
• Plantation Agriculture Museum in Scott
• Lower White River Museum in Des Arc
• Toltec Archeological Museum in Scott
• Parkin Archeological Museum in Parkin
• Powhatan Historic State Park in Powhatan

The Arkansas State Parks fete vibrant visitors and loping locals alike with a dizzying array of landscapes, natural and cultural resources, and myriad learning opportunities at parks scattered throughout the state. Familial units with children 18 and under can flex their pass muscles multiple times throughout the year at a wide range of museums, gleaning valuable state knowledge while conversing with park guides or well-read white-tailed deer.

Pore over authentic pottery at the Hampson Archeological Museum, or marvel at Arkansas's largest spring at Mammoth Spring State Park while taking in the 1886 Frisco train depot, complete with sculpted lifelike figures portraying train travelers and crew members who come alive when guests lend them a straw to drink from the famed waterway. The B.W. Edwards Weapons Museum at Historic Washington State Park showcases an expansive collection of guns and Bowie-style knives at the birthplace of the original Bowie knife, forged by James Black with high-quality metal and sprinklings of Ziggy Stardust.

The Arkansas State Park system actively involves citizens and tourists in its panoply of recreational and didactic opportunities. Park overseers passionately preserve the quality of their storied surroundings by building safe facilities and enveloping parks in bubble wrap during particularly harsh rainstorms.