Be A Junior Ranger

Cover of the Camp Nelson Jr. Ranger booklet.

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Calling All Junior Rangers!

Recruits Wanted - Fall In!

Discover the unique and complicated history of Camp Nelson National Monument by completing the Junior Ranger Activity Guide Booklet!

This fun and engaging program lets visitors of all ages connect with a Civil War supply depot that became the largest recruitment center for United States Colored Troops in the State of Kentcuky and the third largest in the nation!

Who were the soldiers that enlisted at Camp Nelson?

What trials did refugees face after escaping slavery?

What lessons can we learn and still use today?

 

Inside each booklet, Junior Rangers will find answers to these big questions, and more! Once complete stop by the visitor center to take the pledge and earn your Junior Ranger badge!

While the Junior Ranger Activity Guide is best completed on site, there is still an opportunity to earn a badge virtually! Download your own copy of the booklet here and use the park film, photographs and other information on this page to complete many activities found inside. When finished, send us your booklet to earn your badge by mail!

Camp Nelson National Monument Jr. Ranger Activity Guide (PDF 3.6MB)

 

Duration:

17 minutes, 8 seconds

This 17 minute video shares the history of why Camp Nelson was created, and what it became during the Civil War. Thanks to the Camp Nelson Preservation and Education Foundation for sharing this video.

 

USCT Camp Exhibit at Camp Nelson includes the stories of eight men who enlisted here.

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U.S. Colored Troop - Matching Activity
The USCT Camp Exhibit shows a glimpse of life in the army and shares the stories of eight different men who enlisted as soldiers at Camp Nelson. For close up, readable images of each part of the exhibit, use these links: Marrs and Bruner, Warfield and Truehart, Wright and Thomas, and Willis and Burleigh.

Read each soldier's story to complete the matching activity in your Junior Ranger booklet.

 

Reimagined interior of a refugee cabin at Camp Nelson.

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Refugee Cabins- Compare and Contrast

Think of your bedroom or livingroom, would they look the same if you had to build your house by hand?

The first African American women and children seeking freedom inside Camp Nelson had to make their own shelter with any materials they could find. After the Home for Colored Refugees was constructed in 1865, building materials were provided by army stores.

Follow the instructions in your booklet and use these pictures showing the inside of two cabins on display in the park's museum.

How are these refugee cabins different than your home? Can you find anything these cabins and your home have in common?

 

Reimagined interior of a refugee cabin at Camp Nelson.

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Sutler - Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
Pictured here is the informational signs that you find about the Commercial District, The Post Sutler, and Fort Jackson when hiking in the park. Use the pictures of these two signs to answer the questions on the Sutler page in your book.

 

Informational sign about the Post Sutler found along the trail.

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Informational sign about the Commercial District along the trail.

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Informational sign found at Ft. Jackson along the trail.

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Discovering the Underground Railroad Booklet

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Network to Freedom

Camp Nelson is not just a Civil War site!

Emancipation was a slow and complicated process in the United States, but that did not stop African Americans from seeking freedom and fighting for equality, citizenship, and Civil Rights.

Camp Nelson is just one of many sites that tell the story of freedom seekers and those who helped them along the road to Civil Rights.

The current version is being offered while supplies last. A new booklet is currently being created!

 

Network to Freedom Junior Ranger Badge

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Pee Wee Ranger Booklet

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For kiddos aged 3-6, ask for a copy of the Pee Wee Ranger Booklet!