--- - |2+ Objectives Scholars have noted a gap in extracurricular (EC) participation between Hispanic students and other students. But why exactly does this gap exist? We consider four possible explanations: parental awareness, financial resources, family obligations, and access to EC activities. Methods To test these possible explanations for the EC participation gap, we use data on middle school participation in EC activities from Tulsa, Oklahoma. We fit a series of ordinary least squares models to analyze membership in EC activities across seven activity types for 381 Hispanic and 447 white students in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We also investigate whether EC activity predicts academic outcomes in middle school. Results Parental awareness is the dominant predictor of EC activity. EC activity also has positive effects on math test scores, math and reading grades, and overall grade point average, even after controlling for early academic success. Conclusions The key to narrowing the Hispanic‐white EC participation gap would seem to be greater parental awareness of the value of EC activities as well as practical steps that might be taken to enlist children in such activities. - Social Science Quarterly, EarlyView.