Every Kid Outdoors: Leif’s Epic 4th Grade Junior Ranger Adventure
Hi, I’m Junior Ranger Leif Silva and over the next five week, I’m going to take you on an epic adventure across the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. New blog posts for each location can be found at the bottom of this page.
The Junior Ranger program was created by the National Park Service to inspire kids like me. And even though the program is intended to teach kids aged 5 to 12, the park service welcomes “junior” rangers of any age to complete the program!
There are over 424 National Park Service units covering over 85 million acres in all 50 states, Washington DC, and several US territories, and most of them have a Junior Ranger that you can complete to receive a badge, patch, or certificate.
Some of the National Park Service’s sister organizations like Bureau of Land Management and the United States Fish and Wildlife Services also have Junior Ranger programs, and I’ll be doing some of those sites on our trip.
Becoming a Junior Ranger is easy. You just download the activity booklet online or pick up a booklet in the visitor center when you arrive at the Park. During the pandemic closures, many of the Park units will have a Ranger table outdoors where you can get a booklet, even if the visitor center is still closed.
Also, many of the Park units created virtual Junior Ranger activities that you can complete at home if you are unable to travel or the park is still closed or limited in staff due to the pandemic. Be sure to look over their website and follow their Facebook pages for special Junior Ranger activities that occur throughout the year.
On Junior Ranger Day in 2020, my brother and I did a full days worth of activities from our house to complete the National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Junior Ranger. We virtually traveled to New Mexico, Washington State, and Tennessee during National Park Week by logging in every day for question and answer sessions with the Rangers from the Manhattan Project.
And in 2021 during National Park Week, we learned how to paint watercolors, build and decorate teepees, and we discussed bear safety with the Rangers at Bighorn Canyon. That was really exciting for me because I’ll be meeting those same Rangers in person during my summer trip!
Each activity booklet tells you how many activities you need to complete based on your age. Some activities can be done before you arrive so that you can start learning about the Park you headed to beforehand. Other activities are done onsite by going for a hike, participating in a Ranger-led activity, or by watching a short educational film or checking out the exhibits in the Park’s visitor center.
Once you have completed your booklet, the Rangers “swear you in”. You pledge to share what you have learned, continue to explore, and help to protect the park so that future generations can enjoy it.
My journey to become a Junior Ranger started in 2019. Over winter break, my grandma and Great Aunt Jaci took me to see the alligators at Big Cypress National Preserve’s Oasis Visitor Center. My mom bought me a Junior Ranger passport booklet to start recording all the parks. When we got back to school, my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Capka, asked each of us to create a New year goal, and I decided I would use my new passport booklet to complete 10 Junior Rangers.
It was so much fun that in 2020, I renewed my goal and doubled it! Because of the pandemic closures, we mostly stayed close to home and completed the Junior Rangers at the numerous Civil War battlefields throughout the MidAtlantic where I live.
I did get a chance to also explore some nature with visits to Shenandoah National Park, Assateague National Seashore, and Great Falls Park. We even camped and hike all along the C&O Canal National Historical Park, and I made it as far north as Acadia National Park in Maine and as far south as Dry Tortugas National Park – 70 miles off the coast of Key West, Florida!
This year, I doubled my goal AGAIN! That’s right, I’m planning to complete 40 Junior Rangers this year, most of them on my summer trip.
I’ll travel along the historic Oregon Trail in Nebraska and Wyoming and following in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark across Montana. I’ll explore the cave systems in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I’ll meet the Native American tribes in North Dakota. I’ll learn to dig up and catalog dinosaurs and fossils in Utah. And all with a backdrop of some of the most beautiful scenery in the country at Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and more!
Please subscribe to my mom’s Solstice Quest Youtube page so that you can follow along on my adventures. My mom will be editing and uploading videos along the way, but our access to internet will be limited. If you want to see some daily quick pictures and check-ins while you wait for my videos, you can follow Solstice Quest on Facebook or Instagram.
I’m super excited to take you along on my goal of 40 Junior Ranger’s this year! Maybe I’ll see you out there!