ST. PAUL (WJON News) -- Students across the state are being encouraged to get some exercise and enjoy some fresh air while going about their regular schedules this week.

May is National Bike Month and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has declared Wednesday “Walk and Bike to School Day.”

The annual springtime event sponsored by MnDOT and Minnesota Safe Routes to School is intended to promote bike and pedestrian safety. Each year, kids can learn about the value of physical activity and the environmental effects of walking and biking such as reduced air pollution and traffic congestion.

Students in Kindergarten through 8th grade can also design a Bike to School Day poster for the chance to win a bicycle prize pack and bike rack for their school. Submissions for the poster contest are due by Friday.

More than 130 schools in the state have signed up to host Walk and Bike to School Day events.

LOOK: Stunning vintage photos capture the beauty of America's national parks

Today these parks are located throughout the country in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The land encompassing them was either purchased or donated, though much of it had been inhabited by native people for thousands of years before the founding of the United States. These areas are protected and revered as educational resources about the natural world, and as spaces for exploration.

Keep scrolling for 50 vintage photos that show the beauty of America's national parks.

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