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Junior Rangers
Helping kids and families explore and learn about their national parks is key to becoming a Junior Ranger. By exploring and learning, kids gain an appreciation for these special places and feel a personal sense of responsibility to protect them today and into the future.
There are currently over 290 Junior Ranger Programs in the National Park Service. In each of these parks, kids receive a booklet filled with fun, hands-on activities to explore with their families as they go through the Parks.
Kids will interview Rangers, complete games, and answer questions about the park and the National Park Service. The booklet helps engage young people in the stories embodied in their national parks.
At the end of their experience in the park, kids go back to the visitor center and have their booklet checked and are sworn in as Junior Rangers. Each Junior Ranger receives a certificate, and a Junior Ranger badge or patch.
Junior Rangers by the Numbers
Some interesting facts about Junior Rangers and the Junior Ranger Program:
- 1960 The year the Junior Ranger program is thought to have begun in California state parks
- 90 The number of parks that have been able to create new programs or enhanced existing programs with support from the National Park Foundation
- 158 The number of Junior Ranger badges earned by 11-year-old, Chandler Johnson
- 406,000 The number of Junior Rangers sworn in during 2006
- 1 Million The number of Junior Ranger Gazettes distributed in national parks during National Park Week
- 2.5 Million The amount of contributions given by the National Park Foundation to support the program in 2005 and 2006
Junior Ranger Day 2008
On Saturday, April 26, 2008, the National Park Foundation and the National Park Service encourage families and children across the country to get out to the parks to celebrate the Junior Ranger program and its role in connecting our children to America. Special programs in National Parks around the country introduce children to the natural and urban wonders within our parks as they explore and learn about how to protect these treasures. All children who participate in the program exemplify the motto “Explore, Learn, Protect” and receive a special Junior Ranger Day Patch. This special day proclaimed by President George Bush and announced by the Secretary of Interior and National Park Service Director acknowledges new and returning Junior Rangers of all ages.
The day, in many national parks across the country, will be marked by knowledge hunts, special ranger-led programs, and formal swearing in ceremonies for new recruits. Kids can also take part online as WebRangers, by completing a scavenger hunt and receiving a commemorative certificate.
