Rascal Rangers: 200 Badges and Climbing

We have an aspiration for each national park, historic site, or monument—that the kids be sworn in as Junior Rangers.

That’s now happened 40 times.  For our whole crew, that’s 200 junior ranger badges. And counting.

The National Park Service’s Junior Ranger program has become one of our family’s standard ways to experience America. It’s free, it’s kid-focused, and it gets the rangers to talk to the kids.

At its heart, the Junior Ranger program is a simple idea: give kids a booklet with activities about the park they’re visiting, let them explore, learn, engage. If they complete the requirements—the Ranger gives them an oath, the kids each earn a badge and walk out with a sense of connection to that specific place and history.

A Badge for Every Place

Over 400 sites participate in the Junior Ranger program—from iconic national parks like Yellowstone to windswept battlefield sites, from desert outposts to presidential homes. Although, as we have found, many sites that were protected (and funded) before the National Park Service was created are not included.  For example, Washington’s, Jefferson’s, and Madison’s homes are not part of the National Park Service. Interestingly, Adams’ home in Massachusetts is. Even famous state parks like Niagara Falls don’t count.

But the breadth of what is included is incredible: forts, caves, trails, statues, lighthouses, ruins. America’s story told in granite, trees, lava flows, and people.

Every junior ranger booklet is different. That’s one of the best parts. They’re not cookie cutter. Death Valley had hands-on exhibits with sand and skulls. York Town asked about troop movements of Alexander Hamilton and Marqui de Lafayette. The Wright Brothers National Memorial focuses on the story of the brothers working together in Ohio and travelling to North Carolina. And we recently did one on paleontology that wasn’t even tied to a specific site—just a nerdy deep-dive into fossils for kids eager to earn more badges.

The badges themselves vary too—mostly wood, some plastic and the rare, embroidered patch. The older kids have diligently organized theirs, while the younger ones need a bit of assistance not to get poked by the pin or lose it on the floor of the car.

The Irony of the Booklet

Now, we say this with love: there’s something deeply ironic about driving hundreds of miles into wide open space...only to watch our kids walking around staring down at a worksheet.

These booklets are full of crossword puzzles, word searches, “find this in the exhibit” clues, and matching games. Sometimes scavenger hunts. Sometimes “sit and reflect” pages. But often, the activity requires a small child to juggle a pencil, a paper booklet, and a light breeze while standing on gravel or next to a cliff. One wrong move and you’re chasing your word search across a ravine.

We get it. The book gives structure. It makes sure the kids learn something. It gives the rangers something to review before they hand out a badge. But it also feels like a little reminder of how deeply ‘worksheet learning’ is wired into America—fill-in-the-blanks, check-the-boxes—even in a place designed to make you look up.

We smile at the irony. And we move on.

Our Family Rule

Despite our admiration for the Junior Ranger booklets, we have one non-negotiable: you must go on a hike.

Put the booklet down. Look around. Touch the dirt. Climb the rock. Sit still and breathe. You don’t become a Junior Ranger just by finishing a word search. You earn it by seeing what’s in front of you. By letting your senses catch up to the place you’re in.

And honestly, the rangers agree.

We’ve met dozens now—light-hearted and serious, young and old—but every one of them has asked the kids what they learned and taken the time to answer their questions. Not just what they wrote down.

The Journey Ahead

There are still hundreds of parks left. We’ve only scratched the surface. But the beauty of the Junior Ranger program is that it grows with you. There’s always something new to discover.

So, here’s to many more badges. More hikes. More ranger oaths with nudges to be kind to ourselves, each other and nature.

And always—always—more looking up than looking down.