Familyman Wayne Young and His Family Love Our National Parks

While in Kansas City, KS I ran into felllow familyman Wayne Young and his family. This is one dad who has made the effort to take his family to the best this country has to offer – “The National Parks Service.”:http://www.nps.gov/

In fact, his son Barrett has visited over 250 National Parks and completed over 240 Junior Ranger programs. The Junior Ranger program connects children and families to America’s history, culture, lands and landscapes while fostering a greater appreciation for the preservation and protection of these symbolic resources. National Park Junior Ranger programs encourage kids and families to Explore, Learn, and Discover these special places.

There are almost 400 National Park sites and many of them offer “Junior Ranger programs.”:http://www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.cfm Each program can take one to three hours to complete the activities. On completion, a Park Ranger reviews and discusses the work with the individual, swears them in as a Junior Ranger, and awards them a certificate and badge or patch. The Junior Ranger program is a wonderful educational tool that provides opportunities in science, math, language arts, history, music, art, and more. Barrett is homeschooled, and learns best by doing and experiencing, so working on Junior Ranger programs is a natural part of his education.

In the fall of 2007, Barrett and his parents had the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. and meet several staff members of the National Park Service: Corky Mayo, Program Manager for Interpretation and Education and Wyndeth Davis, Manager of the Junior Ranger program. He was also privileged to meet and visit with Mary Bomar, Director of the National Park Service and the Honorable Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Barrett and his parents, Wayne and Dee Young, work at Fort Scott National Historic Site in Fort Scott, KS, as a part of the National Parks VIP (Volunteers In Parks) program.

*You may not be able to visit as many National Parks as Wayne and his family have, but you might be surprised how many NPs are in your neck of the woods.*

Can’t visit the actual parks? Then check out the “web ranger program.”:http://www.nps.gov/webrangers/