Junior Ranger

Welcome, Wherever You Are!

Junior Rangers around the world can help to preserve and protect our national parks, monuments, and public lands. They learn about nature and history, have fun exploring, and tell their friends and families about their adventures. Junior Rangers protect the environment at home and at school.

Parashant is a big and beautiful place with lots of different plants and animals. This special place is next to the Grand Canyon, one of the most spectacular examples of erosion anywhere in the world! It's a big open space that hasn't been changed much by people. Parashant is very quiet and peaceful. Even though it is hard to get to and doesn't have a lot of water, people have lived here for over 11,000 years. It is important to keep Parashant safe so we can learn from it and enjoy its beauty.

No matter where you are, you can do your part to preserve and protect Parashant National Monument by becoming a Junior Ranger today!

Complete three activities below to be a Parashant Junior Ranger

We know that it is difficult to visit every national park and monument with your family. Wherever you are, we want you to feel connected to Parashant and be able to learn about this special place.

Pardon Our Dust

As we prepare to move into our new Public Lands Visitor Center, we are unable to mail out wooden badges to our Parashant Junior Rangers. Thank you for your understanding.

 

 

Click on the map above to see the full map of Parashant.

"Where Is Parashant?" Activity

Dear Junior Ranger,

You have been asked to help plan a patrol with our park rangers to visit Parashant. Our park ranger offices are located in Saint George, Utah.

• Have a parent or adult help you use a phone or computer to search how long it would take you to travel to our office.
• Enter your hometown and state as your starting address and Saint George, Utah as your destination.
• How many hours or days will it take you to arrive? How many states does your route take you through?

Once you arrive at our office it is time to prepare for a patrol with our rangers. You will need a map of Parashant before you head out on the monument.

Map of Parashant - I Spy

Open the Parashant Brochure Map

• Looking at the map, find the city of Saint George, Utah at the top of page.
• Now look in the middle of the map for Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument. There is a green line drawn around the whole monument.
• Can you find the spot where the states of Utah, Arizona, and Nevada meet?
• Can you find the Colorado River? This river is responsible for carving the Grand Canyon.

Junior Ranger Patrol

For our patrol we want to visit three locations. Look at the Parashant map and choose a Wilderness area, a mountain, and an overlook that you would like to visit.

• Wilderness Area - We have four Wilderness Areas in Parashant. These are wild and special places in nature, where people can visit, but do not build roads or structures.
• Mountain - Look for black dots on the map that have names with: Mountain, MT, or Mount. Make sure the mountain you select is inside of the Parashant boundary
• Overlook - Look for areas on the south end of the monument near the bottom of the page. These overlooks are great places to view the Grand Canyon, but can be very difficult to get to without the right vehicle and supplies.

Thank you for helping us prepare! Maps are a great tool that park rangers use every day.

 

Learn More - Plan Your Visit

Each national park and monument has a Plan Your Visit page that will help you prepare for every adventure. 

 

Be Prepared Activity

Imagine that you and your family are going on an adventure to a place on the edge of the Grand Canyon called Twin Point. The only way to get there is by driving along a very long dirt road. You need a truck that can handle very bumpy and muddy paths. If your truck is super long you might find it hard to turn around corners, especially when the road goes through tight areas with lots of small pine trees.

How would you help your family prepare for this road trip?

Watch a short video about the drive to Twin Point

Twin Point

• Very remote, this spot is a long way from other visitors. Cell phones do not work in this area.
• There are no stores, gas stations, or places to order food to eat.
• Takes 8 to 9 hours on dirt roads to get to Twin Point from Saint George, Utah.
• Roads are covered in snow during the winter and are extremely muddy when it rains. Mud here can be so thick that some people may get stuck!

Plan Ahead And Prepare

Talk about this trip with your family and answer the questions below:

• How would you help your family prepare for this road trip?
• What would you do if you got a flat tire?
• How would you call for help if you got stuck in the mud?
• What supplies and food would you need to take with?
• Is this the type of place that you and your family usually visit?

 

Learn More - Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace is a set of principles that help people visiting the outdoors to leave nature as unchanged as possible. It’s a way of protecting the nature to keep our outdoor spaces enjoyable for many years to come.

 

Oral History Activity

People who study what life was like in the past are called “historians.” As a Junior Ranger you can become a historian by interviewing one of your oldest relatives or family friends. When you record their memories and stories, you are creating an oral history. Park Rangers collect and use oral histories to bring the past to life for our visitors. Here's how you can be a story detective with an oral history interview.

Find Your Storyteller

Ask a parent or adult for help. Choose someone like your grandma, grandpa, or a neighbor. You want someone who remembers stories from long ago and enjoys talking.

Prepare Your Tools

Get a notebook to jot down notes and a recorder (like a phone or a video recorder) so you can listen to the stories again later.

Think of Questions to Ask

Before you meet, think of fun and interesting questions. Here are a few to get started.

• What is your full name?

• When and where did you grow up?

• What was your school like? Was it big or small?

• What was your favorite game when you were little?

• Tell me about a day you will never forget.

• How did you spend your free time in the days before streaming movies and video games?

• What did your family do together for fun?

Be a Good Listener

When you start your interview, let them talk and tell their story. Listen closely and be patient.

Ask Your Questions

Say Thank You and Reflect

After they've shared their stories, don't forget to say thank you. Sharing stories is a gift. Neatly write up the person’s answers to your questions. Save the oral history in a safe place. What did you learn from your interview? Did anything surprise you? How was this person's childhood different from yours? How was it similar?

 

Learn More - Oral History Project

Listen to stories from Parashant and the Arizona Strip by visiting our Oral History Project webpage.

 

Night Sky Activity

Parashant is a special place that's far away from lots of people and cities. It's up high on big flat lands called plateaus. The air there is super clean and not many people live around. Most nights there aren't many clouds in the sky. This means at night, you can see the stars really well. It's like having the best seat in a huge outdoor movie theater, but instead of watching a movie, you're looking at the beautiful night sky full of stars. Parashant is one of the best places to stargaze and feel like you're close to the stars!

Explore the Parashant Night Sky

If you do not have the opportunity to visit Parashant in person, you can view our dark night sky wherever you are.

• Click on the Dark Sky Views below to observe the night sky over Parashant.
• Or View the night sky from where you live.

Create

• Take a few minutes to write a story, poem, or create some type of art that expresses what you notice about the night sky or how it makes you feel.

 

 

Learn More - Lightscape and Night Sky

Learn more about the night sky by visiting our Lightscape and Night Sky webpage.

 

Take The Pledge

"I am proud to be a Parashant Junior Ranger. I promise to help take care of and protect Parashant and other public lands. I also promise to continue to explore, learn about, and protect the natural world, wherever I go."

Right-click on the Parashant Junior Ranger Badge to save it for printing.

Pardon Our Dust

As we prepare to move into our new Public Lands Visitor Center, we are unable to mail out wooden badges to our Parashant Junior Rangers. Thank you for your understanding.

 

Congratulations!

Thank you for being a Parashant Junior Ranger! We hope you will always continue to explore, learn about, and protect the world around you.

Learn More

Junior Ranger Online

Find your park online with interactive and printable activities.

National Junior Ranger Booklets

These activity booklets help kids connect to topics that are important to many places across the National Park Service.

Junior Ranger Missions

Explore Bureau of Land Management lands in a whole new way.