National Junior Ranger Programs

Published: May 30, 2024

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Have fun while exploring and learning about our nation's park lands

The Junior Ranger Motto: "Explore, Learn, Protect"

The Junior Ranger program, was created by the National Park Service as a way to introduce and involve young visitors to their mission of preserving and protecting the nation's natural and cultural heritage. The programs are fun activity-based educational programs families can explore offered by the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service .


In 2007 while serving as first lady of the U.S., Laura Bush was in Zion National Park to help kick off the first National Junior Ranger Day. "As first lady, she had participated in more than forty-five events in support of the national parks and had visited more than thirty-one parks and historic sites throughout the United States. She served as the honorary chair of the National Park Foundation and actively promoted programs such as First Bloom and Junior Rangers to introduce young people to the parks. Privately, she had experienced several sites more extensively during annual hiking trips with a group of childhood friends." Source: The White House Historical Association .

The image above is a collage of a few of the Junior Ranger Handbooks available on GovInfo. Search GovInfo for these and other Junior Ranger activity handbooks and guides.



As a Junior Ranger you will be responsible for taking care of national parks and historic sites, educating others about the National Park Service and treating everyone with kindness. Many of the national parks have programs and activity booklets specific to their sites. Although some programs only offer in-person programs, some offer booklets you can download with printable completion awards, certificates, and badges. The programs are mostly directed towards children between 5 and 13 years of age, but the parks encourage "children of all ages" and families to participate.
The programs engage children in age-appropriate activities that allow them to learn the history and importance of these park systems and how to protect them. The programs are not only at National Parks but at all types of National Park managed sites such as seashores, historic monuments, national historic trails, and battlefields. Children complete activities and may receive certificates and earn badges or patches.

Follow Lucy the Listening Owl to become a Jr. Ranger Sounds Explorer. Explore sounds in the park and learn the science of sound and why sound is important to parks. Source: National Park Service



The Network to Freedom's virtual Junior Ranger Activity Lost in Disguise teaches about how people used creativity to escape slavery. One component of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 (112 Stat. 678) authorized the National Park Service to coordinate and facilitate activities to educate the public about the Underground Railroad.



Become a Riverways Junior Ranger by exploring the Ozark National Scenic Riverways and learning about pioneers from Tennessee and Kentucky who headed west to settle in what is now called the Ozark National Scenic Riverways. 78 Stat. 608 established the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri.



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