Ranger Jade with a group of children, directing them into the national park facility.
NPS Photo
The Junior Ranger program invites kids and families to explore and learn about national parks while discovering ways to help protect them.
There are over 200 Junior Ranger programs across the National Park Service. In each park, kids can talk to Rangers, play games, and answer questions about the park. After completing the activities, they are sworn in as Junior Rangers and receive a special certificate and badge.
To earn a Junior Ranger badge from New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, complete the activities and mail them to:
New Orleans Jazz NHP
Attn: Junior Ranger
419 Decatur Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
Once your activity book is received, your Junior Ranger badge will be mailed to you!
Songs for Junior Rangers
Songs for Junior Rangers Volume 1
Raise your hand if you were ever a Junior Ranger in our National Parks system. Songs for Junior Rangers is for everyone, and brings the joys of our national parks to you through very cleverly written and educational music. All songs were penned by Park Ranger Jeff Wolin, (except "Junior Ranger" which is by Krishel Augustine of the Navajo tribe), and he has engaged friends such as Johnette Downing, Bruce Barnes, Eric Falls and even the mighty Trout Fishing in America, to help him out. The whole affair is quite witty, with songs such as "Humps, Hooves, and Horns" educating children about the difference between buffalo and bison. Another favorite is "Explore, Learn, and Protect," which tells the history and legacy of the Parks department. "Four Presidents," sung by Downing extols the praises of Mount Rushmore, while "Spelunca Funka" is a funky ode to cave exploration, and "Run Fish Run" explains fish spawning with a great calypso rhythm. Elsewhere, "Down on the Mall" is a Bobby McFerrin-meets-Stevie Wonder-style song about national memorials, and the hysterical "Wapiti Hoppity" employs hip hop (what else?) to celebrates animals that hop. "Beach Party at High Altitude" is a Dire Straits-ish ode to snowboarding, and the Trouts contribute a polka elegy to historical figure Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who has a National Park named after him.
Still more fun can be had with "Skyscraper Plants," a Zouk tribute to Redwood trees, and a sea shanty, complete with sailing instructions and history in "New Bedford Whaling." The album ends with two Wolin gems in "Turtle Up, Turtle Down," about reptilian migration, and "National Fossil Day," which celebrates Earth's prehistory, set to a Zydeco beat.
The National Park Service, with support from the National Park Foundation, produced this CD, and it comes housed in a DVD style cardboard packaging, which is well designed and illustrated. The set also includes a 20-page illustrated booklet of lyrics and photos, and a poster map. Junior rangers can also use the songs as clues to play Junior Ranger game, which is included.
National Fossil Day (Jeff Wolin) all across the Earth you can find the evidence of ancient life a prehistoric puzzle made out of stone fossils tell us stories about our home chorus: hey, hey what do you say? let's have a National Fossil Day think about the Earth's prehistory and study paleontology it takes a special recipe to preserve the remains of living things most life on our Earth dies and decays so if you find a fossil you should celebrate chorus dinosaur, ancient horse, short-faced bear ancient reef, cycads, mammoth hair leaves and burrows, tracks and cones bugs, fish, feathers, teeth and bones fossils are rare, now you know there's places to collect and places where you don't a non-renewable curiosity so go and discover but treat them gently chorus (2X) hey hey what do you say National Fossil Day, hey hey what do you say National Fossil Day hey hey what do you say National Fossil Day hey hey what do you say National Fossil Day
Turtle Up, Turtle Down
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Along the Gulf coast there’s a story in the sand a long line of tracks made by flippers on the land a peaceful turtle that returns every year to make sure her species doesn’t disappear chorus: turtle up, turtle down, ancient life cycle goes round and round turtle up, turtle down, they go to the home that their ancestors found mama comes up builds a nest on the beach babies are born and go down to the sea they storm the beach it’s a reptile armada when they arrive it’s called the “arribada” maybe it’s the wind, or the moon, or a mood that causes Kemp’s ridleys to lay down her brood chorus hurry, scurry, to the water you go a nice bed of seagrass is what you need to grow jellyfish and crabs so good to eat unless you become a predator’s treat tangled nets and pollution in the sea they’ve lost some habitat where they used to breed let’s give them some protection so that they have a chance to ride out rhythms of mother nature’s dance. chorus down to the sea, down to the sea
Humps, Hooves, and Horns
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An original song by Ranger Jeff Wolin about bison and Yellowstone
Chorus: humps, hooves, and horns, Bison bison humps, hooves and horns, that’s no buffalo humps, hooves and horns, Bison bison humps, hooves and horns, that’s no buffalo humps, hooves and horns, humps, hooves and horns, humps hooves and horns thousands of years ago in the Ice Age, Bison antiquus roamed all over the place standing 8 feet tall, his horns were 6 feet long, livin’ in the Pleistocene you had to be strong they developed adaptations they passed them to their kin, today we know this animal…as a bison they got a… Chorus hundreds a years ago almost sea to sea, millions of bison roamin’ wild and free travellin’ in their herds sometimes a mile wide, sacred to many their lives were intertwined they provided food more than a general store their medicine was power, story and lore…they got a… Chorus not so long ago our country moved out West, bison were overhunted almost none were left they needed some protection before they disappeared lucky for the bison a refuge did appear Yellowstone was set aside so we could see, the bison roamin’ whoooo wild and free they got a…. Chorus
Wapiti Hoppity
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An original hip hop song about elk by Ranger Jeff Wolin.
Wapiti Hoppity (Jeff Wolin) elk really like hip hop music, elk really like hip hop music let’s go walking megafauna stalking out in the forest tip toe and no talking looking for the elk putting on the sneak do not crush the leaves that’s underneath your feet majestic mammals bulls the bulls are the males little baby calves and the cows are the females white patch on the back of their rump, they smell out your scent and they do a jump jump chorus: Wapiti hoppity, there hiding in the trees, forty pound antlers growin’ on top, rub to the tree break it down don’t stop Wapiti hoppity, there hiding in the trees, forty pound antlers growin’ on top, rub to the tree break it down don’t stop they got big ears so they can hear you when you’re coming that’s what they fear alert to the herd and they’re gone in a flash white rump in the forest and they do a deer dash dusk to the dawn the feedings on grazing browsin’ grind the food down digest it later, ruminator they got great guts four stomach chambers Cervus elaphus scientifically, historically they lived sea to sea habitat loss cut their numbers down, through conservation they making a rebound don’t delay the day you get to see one up in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone or the Tetons in the fall, y’all will hear the call of the wild, elk bugle make me smile chorus
Last updated: April 15, 2025
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Contact Info
Mailing Address:
419 Decatur St
New Orleans,
LA
70130
Phone:
504-589-3882
For best response, please call during business hours, Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, Central time.
