Springfield Armory National Historic Site - family and jr ranger (U.S. National Park Service)

Springfield Armory NHS, US NPS

Families with children will find things to do at Springfield Armory. In addition to puzzles and “dress-ups” of Park Ranger uniforms, a young visitor may relax reading a book and complete any one of several self-guided activities for an official Springfield Armory NHS Junior Park Ranger badge.

Be a Junior Ranger

Become a Junior Ranger at Springfield Armory National Historical Park! The Junior Ranger area next to the Information Desk & Visitors Center has fun activities that allow you to explore the park's museum and exhibits. You will learn about David Lyle's “Life-Saving” gun that threw ropes to ships and crews in distress, the Springfield rifles of the Civil War, the people, and inventions that contributed so much to the American Industrial Revolution, and more.

These Museum activities, the paper sheets of which are available for printing and include: (I) following the powder trail on a flintlock musket; (II) a ‘scavenger hunt’ finding displays based on clues; (III) a ‘quiz’ to see how much you recall from the orientation movie; and (IV) a cut-out of the Lyle “Life-Saving” gun to assemble and take home [six (6) pages: I, II, III, IV, V, VI]. A lot of fun and learning, at the same time, may be had by exploring the JUNIOR RANGER programs on-line, too.