Fun Learning

 

Junior Ranger badge on National Park Service logo.

NPS Photo

Junior Ranger Activities

There are many options for becoming a National Park Service Junior Ranger! The C&O Canal National Historical Park offers a Junior Ranger Activity Book, along with several Virtual Junior Ranger adventures! The National Park Service also offers several special interest Junior Ranger books. Whatever adventure you choose, we invite you to explore becoming a Junior Ranger!

 

Canal Exhibit in Great Falls Park visitor center. There are four figures present; the highlighted figure to the far right is a depiction of the man who was known as Captain George Pointer.

NPS Photo/Ahmad Toure

Captain George Pointer

George Pointer was an important figure to the C&O Canal as one of the first workers for the Patowmack Canal Company. George Pointer was an obscure citizen, but he accomplished great achievements during his time. Learn about his legacy through a unique craft activity, a new Junior Ranger activity, and historical articles.

• Feather Pen Craft Activity
• Great Falls Park Virtual Junior Ranger Activity

 

Historical photo of row houses on Dumbarton Street in Georgetown.

Photo courtesy of Georgetown Neighborhood Library Peabody Room

Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project and Tour

The C&O Canal holds rich history in the DC neighborhood of Georgetown. Visit the Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project to travel back in time to Georgetown past. Use the tour to visit the sites in-person. How much of this history did you already know? What new perspectives do you have of Georgetown now?

 

Ranger and two kids holding artifacts in the NPS Archeology Program.

NPS Photo

Archeology for Kids

Do you like to dig in the dirt? Find things that are lost? Put pieces together? Figure out stories from clues? Learn about the past? These are all things archeologists do—maybe you're one, too! Archeology is tons of dirt-digging, story-telling, mystery-solving fun. Like you, many archeologists caught the archeology bug as kids. Head over to the National Park Service Archeology for Kids page for more info!

 

Digital illustration of mules Lock and Key.

NPS Photo

Trees, Trees, Trees....Come Meet Lock & Key!

Take a journey with Lock and Key, two mules who work along the C&O Canal, as they teach us about trees! Learn about what happens to trees during the seasons, do a scavenger hunt, embrace your creative side, and so much more. There are plenty of fun activities to explore, so what are you waiting for? Meet Lock & Key!

 

Title: C&O Canal, Georgetown DC (Originally published in 1916)

Library of Congress (LOC Control Number 2004661804)

NPS Museum Management Program

Explore this extensive list of virtual exhibits and educational resources about topics ranging from the American Civil War, American Heritage, American Presidents and First Ladies, the American Revolutionary War, American Visionaries, the American West, Paleontology, and more.

• Virtual Museum Exhibits
• Collection Highlights
• Parks with Online Collections

 

Historic image of a family of canallers holding hands while on a canal boat.

NPS Photo

Children of the Canal

Find out what life was like for children on the C&O Canal back in the day! Where did they live? Where did they learn? What did they do for fun? How were their lives similar or different from yours? Learn about the life of youth that travelled along the C&O Canal during its operation.

 

Entrance to Department of the Interior Museum.

NPS Photo

Interior Museum Digital Exhibitions

• Portrait of an Agency: Secretarial Portraits at the U.S. Department of the Interior
  View the museum's collection of more than 50 official secretarial portraits and learn about the men and women who have served as secretaries of the Interior since 1849.
• Stories in Miniature: The U.S. Department of the Interior Museum's Dioramas
  Explore the 13 iconic dioramas specifically created for the Interior Museum between 1935 and 1945 to illustrate aspects of the Department of the Interior's mission.

 

Youth group learning with a Canal Classroom Corps (CCC) teacher.

NPS Photo

Google Street View Tour

You can explore the C&O Canal online using Google Street View tour. This 3D tour starts at Lockhouse 44 and allows you to discover the C&O Canal to the Cumberland Terimus. Use the map functions to "walk the towpath" and explore the different canal towns! Look closely... What can you find?