National Monument celebrates Junior Ranger Day

DINOSAUR — “April 26 has been designated Junior Ranger Day at Dinosaur National Monument,” said Superintendent Mary Risser. “The highlight of Junior Ranger Day is the unveiling of the newly created Junior Paleontologist activity booklet along with a new Junior Paleontologist badge at 1 p.m.”
The event begins at 1 p.m. at the visitor center near Jensen, Utah. Event activities include the unveiling of the new Junior Paleontologist booklet and special activities aimed at helping children complete the Junior Paleontologist booklet. Children who complete the activities in the booklet will take an oath to become new Dinosaur National Monument Junior Paleontologists and will be presented a badge. The booklet, badge and guided activities are free for each child wishing to participate, and there is no entrance fee to the Monument on this day.
The Junior Ranger program, created by the National Park Service in the 1960s, engages kids in age-appropriate activities that introduce them to the treasures of the national park system and allow them to discover the significance of these special places and to understand the importance of protecting them. Today, the Junior Ranger program serves 383,639 children in 297 parks.
It also includes an on-line component, WebRangers (www.nps.gov/webrangers), which receives more than 1 million visitors annually.