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Experience Great Smoky Mountains National Park Every Summer!
Each summer, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers Junior Ranger Programs that encourage kids to have fun (and learn!) in our great outdoors! Programs are offered daily throughout the summer season beginning mid June Sugarlands, Cades Cove, and Oconaluftee Visitor Centers. Pick up a Junior Ranger Booklet at any Visitor Center.
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2010 Junior Ranger Events
will be Posted as Dates Become Available
(2009 Events List Below)
SUNDAY
- Geology for Junior Rangers
Sundays at 11:00 - 12:00 AM
June 15 - August 10
How old are the Great Smoky Mountains? How were they formed? Do rocks talk? Meet at Newfound Gap Overlook.
Stream Splashin'
Sundays at 2:00 PM
June 15 - August 13
Roll up your pants and wade through a mountain stream to look for critters! Be prepared to get wet. Meet at Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Pavilion.
Duration: 1.5 hours.
MONDAY
- Stream Splashers
June 23 - August 11
Roll up your pants and wade through a mountain stream to look for critters! Be prepared to get wet. Meet in Smokermont Campground D Loop. Duration: 1 hour.
Be a Blacksmith!
Mondays at 10:30, 11:30, 1:00, 2:00 & 3:00
June 16 - August 11
Join a park ranger in the blacksmith shop to learn about the blacksmith. Create your own item to take home. Limited to children 8-12 years old. Meet at Cable Mill.
Duration: 45 minutes.
Let's be a Scientist!
Mondays at 3:00 P.M.
June 16 - August 11
Ever dream of a being a scientist? Join a ranger to try using scientific tools to study wildlife and forests. Meet in front of Sugarlands Visitor Center
VC. Duration: 1.5 hours.
Explore Nocturnal Nature
Mondays at 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Challenge your senses as we take a nighttime stroll into the dark world of Elkmont. Bring a flashlight. Meet at Little River Trailhead near Elkmont Campground.
TUESDAY
- Little Greenbrier School
Tuesdays at 10:30 - 11:30
June 17 - August 12
Turn back the clock to 1900 and find out what it was like to attend school in a one-room log schoolhouse. Meet at the Little Greenbrier School, near Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area.
Blacksmithing
Tuesdays 10:00 - 12:00
June 24 - August 12
Join a ranger in the blacksmith shop and make your own dinner bell to take home. Limited to children ages 10 and older. Meet at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center Duration. Groups start every 30 minutes.
Become a GPS Guru
Tuesdays at 10:00 - 11:30
June 17 - August 12
Join a ranger to experience an exciting outdoor adventure game known as Earthcaching. Limited to children 10 years and older. Meets in front of Sugarlands Visitor Center.
Critters and Crawlies
Tuesdays at 10:00 and 11:00
June 17 - August 12
Join a ranger to discover the amazing animals that call the Smokies home. Meet Oconaluftee Visitor Center. Duration: 45 minutes.
WEDNESDAY
- Cherokee Pottery
Wednesdays at 4:00 PM
June 15 - August 13
Step back in time and create a piece of pottery the way the Cherokee did. Meet at the shelter in the upper section of Collins Creak Picnic area.
Duration: 1 hour.
Bein' a Kid in the Mountains
Wednesdays at 4:00 PM
June 18 - August 13
What was it like to grow up in these mountains? use some old-timey hand tools, create a mountain toy. Meet in front of Sugarlands Visitor Center Duration: 1 hour.
Stream Splashin'
Wednesdays at 10:00 - 11:30
June 18 - August 13
Roll up your pants and wade through a mountain stream to look for critters! Be prepared to get wet. Meet at Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Pavilion.
THURSDAY
- Batteries not Included!
Thursdays 11:00 - 1:00
June 19 - August 14
What toys did kids play with in the "old days?" You'll take home a "buzz button" of your very own. Meet at the Mountain Farm Museum, adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center.
Trees of the Sugarlands Valley
Thursday at 11:00 - 12:00
June 19 - August 14
There are over 100 kinds of trees that grow in this national park. Join in on a walk along Fighting Creek to identify some of them. Meet in front of Sugarlands Visitor Center.
Pottery Making
Thursdays at 1:30 PM
June 19 - August 14
Step back in time and create a piece of pottery the way the Cherokee did. Meet at Cades Cove Visitor Center, halfway around the loop road. Duration: 30 minutes.
FRIDAY
- Let's Talk about Bears
Fridays at 12:00 - 12:30
Learn about some of their characteristics and the do's and don'ts of observing these bears. Meet at Sugarlands Visitor Center patio.
Whose Poop's on My Boots?
Fridays at 1:30 - 2:30
June 20 - August 15
Grab the kids and meet a ranger to get the scoop on animal skins, tracks and... poop! Make a tracks and scat bandana to take home. Meet at Cades Cove Visitor Center, 1/2 around the loop road.
Can I Hunt in the Park?
Fridays at 2:00 - 3:00
June 27 - August 15
Can you hunt in the park? If it is with your eyes, of course you can! Meet at the Oconaluftee River trailhead adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center.
SATURDAY
- Life in a Mountain Stream
Saturdays at 11:00 - 12:00
Roll up your pants and wade through a mountain stream to look for critters! Be prepared to get wet. Meet in front of Sugarlands Visitor Center.
Animal Olympics
Saturdays at 1:30 - 2:15
June 21 - August 16
Join a park ranger for the Animal Olympics! This interactive family activity compares your abilities to those of the animals of the park. Meet at the Cades Cove Visitor Center, halfway around the loop road.
Eager Weaver
Saturdays 12:00 - 1:00
June 14 - August 16 No program June 21
Join a ranger and learn how the early settlers spun, carded, and dyed wool and cotton, and how they wove it into clothes. Weave a bookmark on your own loom! Meet in front of Sugarlands Visitors Center.
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