Junior Ranger Badges to Earn at Home

Junior Ranger Badges You Can Earn at Home

School is out for spring break this week in our local district and, as with many other school systems around the country, they have decided to tack on another week to it because of coronavirus concerns. As such, I’ve seen a lot of posts floating around, especially on Facebook, asking for suggestions for activities, educational or otherwise, for kids to pass the time during this extended break. One of the best activities I can think of is the National Park Service’s Junior Ranger program! I’ve written a few posts about our Junior Ranger experiences and mentioned more than once how much I love this program. 🙂

The National Park Service offers this service (usually free, though there are a few exceptions) in many of its parks. At participating parks, you can pick up a Junior Ranger activity book, usually at any visitor center. In these, you’ll find several activities and tasks your child will need to complete around the park or visitor center, sometimes based on age, in order to earn a Junior Ranger badge (or in some cases, a patch) for that park. Once they’ve completed all the required tasks, they’ll present their booklet to a ranger who will have them repeat a pledge, then they’ll get their badge.

Some parks are still remaining open (as of this writing) through the epidemic, however, NPS also offers many Junior Ranger badges you can earn at home! This is a great way to pass the time AND learn more about the National Park Service! Here is a list of all of the badges you can currently earn at home.

Junior Ranger Badges You Can Earn at Home

General Badges

California National Historic Trail (No ages listed)

Historic Preservation (Ages 7+)

Junior Archeologist (Ages 6-12)

Junior Cave Scientist (Ages 5-12+)

Junior Paleontologist (Ages 5-12)

Junior Ranger Angler (No ages listed)

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (Ages 7+)

Midwest Archaeological Center (Ages 6+)

Night Explorers (Ages 5-12)

Spaceflight Explorer (Ages 5-14) – there is no badge for this one other than one you can make at home

Underground Railroad (Ages 5+)

Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (No ages listed)

Underwater Explorer (No ages listed)

Wilderness Explorer (Ages 8+)

World Heritage in the United States Junior Ranger (No ages listed)

Site-Specific Badges

(While many parks do have their JR books available for download online, I have only listed parks here that specifically offer badges for people to earn at home rather than visiting the park. It’s always best to earn your badge at the park if you’re able to visit!)

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area (Ages 6-12)

Cane River Creole National Historical Park (No ages listed)

Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (No ages listed)

Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site (Ages 7-12)

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument (Ages 6-12)

Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (No ages listed)

Cowpens National Battlefield (Ages 6-10)

Denali National Park & Preserve (No ages listed)

First State National Historical Park (No ages listed)

Fort Matanzas National Monument (Ages 4+)

Fort Stanwix National Monument (No ages listed)

Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (No ages listed)