NPS Photo

Reenactors taking down flag. While participants in the flag ceremony on April 26 will not be in period costume, the ceremony will be similar to that seen here.

“Explore, Learn, Protect: Be a Junior Ranger” is the theme at this year’s Junior Ranger Day being held April 26, 2008 at Fort Scott National Historic Site. Junior Ranger Day, now in its second year, is being celebrated at numerous National Park Service areas throughout the United States. The goals of the Junior Ranger program at the site are to teach children about Fort Scott’s significant role in our nation’s history and encourage them to be the future stewards of America by sharing NPS values of preservation and protection of our natural and cultural resources. To achieve these goals, the site invites children and their families to participate in a full day’s worth of activities with events beginning at 11:00 a.m. and continuing until 4:00 p.m.

The activities will include a behind the scenes tour of the site, a prairie cleanup, a discussion of the importance of the prairie and an official ceremony to swear in participants as Junior Rangers. In the program “What’s Eating the Site,” children can get a close up look at bugs that harm museum collections and find out how to control them through Integrated Pest Management.

One of the day’s highlights will be a program on the history of the U.S. flag, which will include a discussion on the Pledge of Allegiance, instructions on flag etiquette and an outdoor flag ceremony. This program is designed specifically for youth. The program will satisfy flag related requirements for the Wolf Badge, the Bear Badge, the Webelos Badge (badges in the Cub Scout program), the United We Stand badge and the Wave the Flag badge (badges in the Girl Scout program), as well as the National Park Service’s Junior Ranger Program. Participants in the scouting program are encouraged to wear their uniforms. Space in the outdoor flag ceremony will be limited to 30 participants so please call (620) 223-0310 to reserve your place.

The schedule of activities is as follows:

· 11:00am: “What’s Eating the Site?”

· 1:00pm: “Cleanup and Conservation: Prairie Cleanup Activity

 · 2:00pm: “Fort Scott, Behind the Scenes Tour”

· 3:00pm: Junior Ranger Swearing in Ceremony

· 3:30pm: “It’s a Grand Old Flag”

Throughout the day, participants can work on a scavenger hunt and the park’s Junior Ranger booklet, which is also available throughout the year. Participants will receive an official Junior Ranger badge and other memorabilia. All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Fort Scott National Historic Site is open daily from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. There is an entrance fee of $3.00 for each adult 16 and above. Children 15 and under are admitted free of charge. For more information, call 620-223-0310.