National Park Service Junior Rangers Program

One of the boys’ favorite things to do when we visit a national park is to participate in the National Park Service Junior Rangers Program. This program invites children of all ages to become a “junior ranger” by exploring the parks in a unique way while completing activities in a park-specific National Junior Ranger Booklet. Children can pick up their booklet at the park’s visitors center, or they can be downloaded from home.

Upon completion of the booklet, the participant is asked to answer a few questions with a park ranger and then to take an oath “to protect the land, resources, and history, continue to learn about our national parks, and share their own stories with friends and family.” They also earn a park-specific wooden ranger badge which makes a fun souvenir.

This program can be found at many if not most of the national parks, battlefields, historic monuments, national monuments, seashores.