Journal of Experiential Education

The purpose of this article is to sound a gentle alarm within the adventure education profession in the U.S. The current unrealized potential for programming with the older-adult market (age 65+) caused by the steady aging of the baby-boomers (born 1946–1964) has produced a dramatic impact on the types of outdoor programs that are offered and the ways these programs are conducted. A failure to anticipate and understand aging clients will have profound negative results on the numbers and kinds of adventure education programs that exist in the future.

In this article, the authors examine changing demographics, review the limited writing that has been done in this field, examine the bias that exists against older people and how this unintentional bias often hinders the facilitation of learning for older adults and staff. The article ends with a few brief suggestions for improving the learning experience for older adults.