What is a Junior Ranger?Junior Rangers help to preserve and protect national parks and other public lands managed by the National Park Service. They learn about nature and history, have fun exploring these areas, and tell their friends, families, and schoolmates about their adventures. Junior Rangers continue to protect the environment at home and at school and some even become park rangers when they grow up! How Can You Become a Junior Ranger?Your junior ranger adventure can start right here. Junior Rangers are typically between the ages of 5 to 13, although people of all ages can participate. Get your free Junior Ranger book at the King Salmon and Brooks Camp visitor centers or download it here and get started!
Katmai Junior Ranger Book (PDF, 21 MB)
Follow the steps on the first page to complete your Junior Ranger book. You can turn in your book at either the King Salmon or Brooks Camp visitor center to have it checked by a park ranger who will then swear you in as an official Junior Ranger. If you are unable to visit either of these locations, don’t worry; you can mail your book into the park to be checked by a ranger! If completed properly (have an adult double check your work) a ranger will sign your certificate and mail you a Junior Ranger badge that you can wear with pride. If you’re looking for a bonus adventure, use the video below to become officially sworn in by a Katmai National Park Ranger! Mail Your Completed Junior Ranger Book to: Katmai National Park and Preserve
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Ready to be sworn in as a Junior Ranger? Follow along in the video above! Use the videos below to help you along with your Junior Ranger book activities. Transcript
Hi Junior Rangers! My name is Ranger Sara and today we are going to conduct an experiment about pumice. Pumice is a volcanic rock that is formed during violent volcanic eruptions.
If you haven’t seen pumice before, it is unlike most rocks. Most rocks, like this piece of granite, are heavy and dense, and sink when dropped into water. Let’s see what happens when pumice is dropped into water. It floats! Pumice is a rock that floats. But, how can a rock float? Imagine shaking up a bottle of soda pop. Inside the bottle, gases such as carbon dioxide are dissolved into the liquid from pressure. Let’s see what happens when we take the cap off and relieve that pressure. Gases explode out of the bottle bottle! This is similar to what happens to magma during a volcanic eruption that forms pumice. Pumice is filled with tiny air pockets called vesicles. These vesicles are evidence of gas that has exploded through magma. Magma, which is now lava, then freezes around the vesicles. Now Junior Rangers, I need you to follow the instructions in your junior ranger book and write down the observations you saw about pumice. National parks, like Katmai, rock because of these rocks! And, pumice is one of the coolest rocks around.
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If you can’t go to Brooks Camp to experiment with pumice, then watch this video with Ranger Sara Wolman to complete the activity on page 11. |
Last updated: December 30, 2019