Saturday, April 26, 2008 is National Junior Ranger Day in National Park Service areas throughout the United States. This day is set aside to celebrate Junior Rangers, past and present, who use their visits to National Parks to “Explore, Learn, Protect” these unique national treasures. 

As part of this national celebration, Eisenhower National Historic Site offers its Junior Ranger program, the Junior Secret Service Agent program. Designed for children aged 7-12, the Junior Secret Service Agent program allows the children to learn about President and Mrs. Dwight Eisenhower and how the Secret Service protected them on their farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. For National Junior Ranger Day, site staff will present 20-30 minute long programs on the Secret Service at the Eisenhower Farm for agent trainees and the general public at 11:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. 

Children participating in the Junior Secret Service Agent program engage in activities such as practicing radio procedure, looking for suspicious objects using binoculars, and becoming familiar with surveillance equipment in the site’s restored Secret Service office. Trainees may also have to approach a “suspicious” staff member and interrogate them about their activities. Parents should plan to assist their children as they complete this self-guided activity and learn about President Dwight D. Eisenhower and how the Secret Service protected him. Upon completing the program, the children will receive a Junior Secret Service Agent badge and certificate, plus a special patch commemorating National Junior Ranger Day 2008.