Celebrate National Junior Ranger Day, earn badges at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
National Junior Ranger day is coming up and Wilson's Creek National Battlefield is getting ready to celebrate. Come to Wilson's Creek on Saturday, April 27, to take part in special activities and earn your Junior Ranger, Not-So-Junior Ranger, or Junior Scientist badge, no matter your age.
Activities start at 10 a.m. and last until 2 p.m. Saturday. Meet on the front lawn of the visitor's center to receive your enlistment papers and booklets in your first step to see if you meet the standards of a Civil War troop. Junior Ranger recruits will be able to craft part of a Civil War uniform, conduct a practice drill with a historian, and play 19th-century era games.
During the visit, Junior Rangers, Not-So-Junior Rangers, and Junior Scientists are invited to explore the battlefield. The park highlights the 19th-century Ray House, which was used as a hospital during the Battle of Wilson's Creek, as an attraction.
"Its residents, no matter young or old or free or enslaved, experienced the second major battle of the Civil War as civilians rather than soldiers," a press release says.
Junior Ranger Scientists will explore the battlefield's natural resources to earn their Junior Scientist badges. Participants have to option of the additional challenge to identify plant and animal species in the park and record observations in iNaturalist.
About Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
Administered by the National Park Service, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield preserves the site of the first major battle of the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. The Confederate victory on Aug. 10, 1861, focused greater national attention on the war in Missouri, leading to greater federal military action.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Celebrate Junior Ranger Day at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
