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Ranger-led programs are one of the best ways to learn about Yellowstone in a fun way. June through September park rangers offer walks and talks throughout the day at many park locations.
Duration: 2 minute 6 seconds
- Credit / Author:
- Written & Presented by Park Ranger George Heinz
- Date created:
- 2007-04-27
Ranger-led programs are one of the best ways to have fun and learn about Yellowstone. From June through September, rangers offer free walks and talks throughout the day at many park locations. Check the park website, the official park newspaper or at any visitor center for a list of topics and times. During the winter season, the park offers a limited number of programs.
Because Yellowstone is sits on top of one of the world’s largest volcanoes, rangers offer many programs on the park’s amazing geological features. Rangers lead walks through geyser basins, along the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and to one of Yellowstone’s many waterfalls.
At other free walks and talks rangers can help you identify animal tracks and signs; learn how the park manages its natural resources like cutthroat trout, bison, and wolves; and learn about the basic plants and animals of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
History buffs can join a ranger for a free tour of Fort Yellowstone. Explore what it was like to be a soldier or an early visitor in the world’s first national park.
If you are interested in spending more time with a ranger, look into our summer Ranger Adventure Hikes. Reservations are required and must be made in person at a visitor center. There is a $15 fee for adults and a $5 fee for children between 7 and 15. Space is limited to fifteen participants on these half-day adventures.
Yellowstone’s weather changes fast, so come prepared. Don’t forget bug spray, sun screen and raingear if you attend an outdoor program.
After a successful day exploring Yellowstone, relax and enjoy a free Evening Program. During the summer, they are held at many campgrounds and visitor centers throughout the park. Remember-most Evening Programs don’t start until the sun goes down- but it is a great tradition that is worth staying up for.
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There is no better place to be a kid than in Yellowstone National Park, and no better way to understand this spectacular place than participating in our programs for kids.
Duration: 2 minutes 21 seconds
- Credit / Author:
- Written & Presented by Park Ranger George Heinz
- Date created:
- 2007-04-27
Few places have the ability to touch a child’s heart like Yellowstone. The memories that are made while watching Old Faithful erupt with their family will stay with them for life. To highlight the affect that Yellowstone has on kids, park rangers have developed a series of programs especially for children.
The Junior Ranger program is a fun and rewarding way for children between the ages 5 and 12 to learn about Yellowstone while working toward a Junior Ranger Patch. Activities range from wildlife identification to geologic discovery. Official Junior Ranger newspapers cost $3 and are sold at park visitor centers. Those newspapers help guide youngsters through the process of becoming Junior Rangers.
One of the requirements needed to complete the Junior Ranger program is to attend a ranger-led program. Free programs geared for Junior Rangers and their families are offered at most park visitor centers. During June, July and August, rangers at the Junior Ranger Station near Madison Junction present a variety of programs designed for specifically children. After attending a program, Junior Ranger participants have the ranger sign their official paper.
Children 5 and up can also participate in the Young Scientist Program. Self-guiding booklets are available for $5 and allow children to receive a patch or key-chain for unraveling scientific mysteries. Booklets are available at the Old Faithful Visitor Center and the Canyon Visitor Education Center.
Students and teachers have opportunities to explore Yellowstone from home or school. Windows Into Wonderland is a web based electronic fieldtrip. It was designed to share the resources and treasures of Yellowstone through a series of 17 adventures.
Groups with students of 4th through 8th graders can spend 4 or 5 days in the park participating in Expedition: Yellowstone! This curriculum based program covers a wide variety of subjects and activities. Watch our Expedition: Yellowstone! video for more information.
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As a ranger, there is nothing better than realizing you have touched a child’s heart. For many of us, that is why we do what we do. There is no place better to be a kid than in Yellowstone National Park and no better way to understand this spectacular place than by participating in our programs for kids.
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Back in 1985, Expedition: Yellowstone! was born. It's a curriculum-based residential program for students in grades 4 through 8.
Duration: 2 minutes 50 seconds
- Credit / Author:
- Written & Presented by Park Ranger George Heinz
- Date created:
- 2007-04-27
Yellowstone National Park is more than just a place. It is an idea; an idea about preservation, about families and about tomorrow. The National Park Service is entrusted with our nation’s most special places. As park rangers, we must provide for the benefit and enjoyment of these wonderlands. Yet leave them unimpaired for future generations.
Back in 1985, park managers realized that tomorrow’s decision makers are here today. That’s when Expedition: Yellowstone! was born. It is a curriculum based, residential program for students in grades 4 through 8. The lesson plans in the curriculum meet the education standards in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.
Groups of up to 40 students, teachers, and chaperones live in Yellowstone for four or five days. Sessions are led by park rangers that specialize in education. In the fall and spring, classes stay at the historic Lamar Buffalo Ranch in beautiful Lamar Valley. A lottery system is used for these sessions. Winter classes stay at the Youth Conservation Corps facility in Mammoth Hot Springs and are on a first-come, first-served basis. All classes provide their own food and transportation.
The curriculum is made up of 69 different lessons organized into 4 units that are tailored to meet an individual group’s needs. Along with pre-visit, post-visit and in-park activities, the units include Yellowstone’s Legacy, which teaches about the history of preservation as well as ways we protect our natural and cultural resources today. Voices from the Past, the second unit, explores the history of humans in Yellowstone. Units three and four cover geology and ecology respectively.
While in Yellowstone, students explore geyser basins, discover archeological sites, identify animal tracks or learn about legends around a camp fire. Expedition: Yellowstone! is hands on learning. Students take the values and the knowledge they learn here home and apply them in their own communities. After one student was asked how his trip went, he smiled and told his parents, “There are no words to describe the experience.”
Expedition: Yellowstone! is a cost-recovery program. Fees cover salaries and supplies. There are scholarships available for qualifying students.
Here in Yellowstone, we realize that children are the future of the park. So if you are a teacher, a home school group or if you are just interested in more information on Expedition: Yellowstone! visit the teacher link on our website. Yellowstone is a special classroom. Expedition: Yellowstone! is a special program.
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