Our Junior Ranger program is a place-based experience that uses the Historic Design Office and Grounds to introduce kids to the story of Frederick Law Olmsted and his family and firm.
Please request a Junior Ranger packet at the front desk during open hours.
Please note: Junior Ranger books and badges are not available to mail. As the activities are designed to be experiential, paper books and badges must be received on site.
STEAM Activities
As the site of the nation’s first full-scale, professional landscape architecture office, we have a lot of examples of creative uses of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. We would love you to try out some thing inspired by the happenings of the Olmsted office!
Read the story detailed in Frederick Law Olmsted's letter by clicking this image or the link in the paragraph above!
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Dear Harry
Frederick Law Olmsted wrote many letters, but few are as fantastical or hyperbolic as the one he wrote to his son Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (then known as Harry) in 1875.
This letter has been adapted into an illustrated children's book, highlighting the whimsical but absurd nature of the story written to his son.
Create your own sun print, inspired by the blueprint technology used in the Olmsted office. Copies were essential at the Olmsted office. Clients, park superintendents, ground crews, etc. all needed to see what was going on. Instead of asking their draftsmen to draw multiple plans, the Olmsteds embraced the latest technology- blueprints.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Offices:Junior Rangers, Youth Programs
Build a model bridge, inspired by the landscape design models built in the Olmsted office! When planning a design, models were frequently used by the Olmsted firm. In fact, there was an entire space dedicated to building models- the barn behind the main building at the Olmsted firm.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Offices:Junior Rangers, Youth Programs
What would parks be without plants? The Olmsteds relied on horticulturalists (plant experts) to advise them about which plants would give the look, feel, and texture they wanted park visitors to experience.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Offices:Junior Rangers, Youth Programs
To make outdoor spaces (landscapes) interesting for visitors, the Olmsteds mixed plants, structures, water, rocks, and other items so that there would be many kinds of colors and textures to experience, just like there are in nature. At Fairsted In the early 1900s, the Olmsteds designed landscapes for two observatories. An observatory has tools such as telescopes that help you see the colors and textures of outer space.
Locations:Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
Offices:Junior Rangers, Youth Programs
Create a watercolor landscape, inspired by the work of the Olmsted firm's draftsmen, who created watercolor paintings to show clients what the completed landscape would look like.
The Olmsted firm’s draftsmen were responsible for bringing the ideas of the landscape designs to life! Sometimes they created watercolor paintings to show what the completed landscape would look like to show to their clients.
2022 Stewards conduct research at the Kennedy Library
Stewards of the Future
Summer employment opportunities for teens!
Experience our site and history in unique ways that allow you to gain experience, expand your knowledge, express your creativity, and build your resume. Check out our Summer Employment opportunities.
