Fun Learning

 

Junior Ranger Activities

 

 

Park visitors on the towpath during a Ranger program.

NPS Photo

Canal Discoveries

The NPS and the C&O Canal Trust have collaborated on these 40 hidden gems spread throughout the 184.5 miles of the Park. Explore places you've not yet found, right here in your own backyard. Enjoy the stories our Park Rangers love to share and deepen your appreciation to one of America's greatest historical parks. Learn about these unique historical sites then visit the park and discover your connections to the people, places, and history the C&O Canal has to offer.

 

Canal Exhibit in Great Falls Park visitor center. There are four figures present; the highlighted figure to the far right is a depiction of the man who was know as Captain George Pointer.

NPS Photo / Ahmad Toure

Captain George Pointer

George Pointer was an important figure to the C&O Canal as one of the first workers for the Patowmack Canal Company. George Pointer was an obscure citizen, but he accomplished great achievements during his time. Learn about his legacy through a videos, a unique craft activity, a new Junior Ranger activity, and historical articles in the links below.

• Feather Pen Craft Activity
• Great Falls Park Virtual Junior Ranger Activity
• Historical Pages on Captain George Pointer
• Captain George Pointer's Petition

 

Historical photo of row houses on Dumbarton Street in Georgetown.

Photo courtesy of Georgetown Neighborhood Library Peabody Room

Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project and Tour

The C&O Canal holds rich history in the DC neighborhood of Georgetown. Visit the Georgetown African American Historic Landmark Project to travel back in time to Georgetown past. Use the tour to visit the sites in-person. How much of this history did you already know? What new perspectives do you have of Georgetown now?

 

Ranger and two kids holding artifacts in the NPS Archeology Program.

NPS Photo

Archeology for Kids

Do you like to dig in the dirt? Find things that are lost? Put pieces together? Figure out stories from clues? Learn about the past? These are all things archeologists do—maybe you're one, too! Archeology is tons of dirt-digging, story-telling, mystery-solving fun. Like you, many archeologists caught the archeology bug as kids. Head over to the National Park Service Archeology for Kids page for more info!

 

NPS Infographic / Matt Turner

Passport to Your National Parks: Virtual Cancellation Hub

America's National Parks and NPS brings you Passport To Your National Parks Virtual Cancellations! This program offers park visitors a brand-new batch of park experiences that can be enjoyed from anywhere. Virtual experiences and cancellations will be added throughout the year, so check back often. Continue to the directions below and start your virtual adventure!

Printing Virtual Cancellations

1. Complete a virtual experience.
2. Click the “Download” button next to the cancellation to view a saveable PDF, or click the image for a PNG file.
3. Print your cancellations at 150×150 pixels to get the right cancellation size.

 

Digital illustration of mules Lock and Key.

NPS Photo

Trees, Tree, Trees....Come Meet Lock & Key!

Take a journey with Lock and Key, two mules who work along the C&O Canal, as they teach us about trees! Learn about what happens to trees during the seasons, do a scavenger hunt, embrace your creative side, and so much more. There are plenty of fun activities to explore, so what are you waiting for? Meet Lock & Key!

 

Title: C&O Canal, Georgetown DC (Originally published in 1916)
Watercolor over graphite landscape drawing created by Susan Brown Chase shows buildings by the C&O Canal in Georgetown.

Library of Congress (LOC Control Number 2004661804)

NPS Museum Management Program

Explore this extensive list of virtual exhibits and educational resources about topics ranging from the American Civil War, American Heritage, American Presidents and First Ladies, the American Revolutionary War, American Visionaries, the American West, Paleontology, and more.

• Virtual Museum Exhibits
• Collection Highlights
• Parks with Online Collections

 

Historic image of a family of canallers holding hands while on a canal boat.

NPS Photo

Children of the Canal

Find out what life was like for children on the C&O Canal back in the day! Where did they live? Where did they learn? What did they do for fun? How were their lives similar or different from yours? Learn about the life of youth that travelled along the C&O Canal during its operation.

 

Entrance to Department of the Interior Museum.

NPS Photo

Interior Museum Digital Exhibitions

• Portrait of an Agency: Secretarial Portraits at the U.S. Department of the Interior
  View the museum's collection of more than 50 official secretarial portraits and learn about the men and women who have served as secretaries of the Interior since 1849.
• Stories in Miniature: The U.S. Department of the Interior Museum's Dioramas
  Explore the 13 iconic dioramas specifically created for the Interior Museum between 1935 and 1945 to illustrate aspects of the Department of the Interior's mission.

 

Men of the CCC repairing towpath damage at the Widewater portion of the C&O Canal.

NPS Photo

NPS Story Map: A New Deal for the Canal and the Civilian Conservation Corps

What are your favorite "second chance" stories? The flood of 1924 that closed the C&O Canal and the historic flood of 1936 seemed to doom the canal to complete collapse. Purchased by the U.S. government in 1938, the canal was revived and restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). From 1938 to 1941, these young African American men restored the damaged canal. Their work both in the canal and in the CCC classrooms built a loved National Historical Park and empowered them to develop the qualities of "cooperation, concentration, and dedication".

 

Youth group learning with a Canal Classroom Corps (CCC) teacher.

NPS Photo

Google Street View Tour

You can explore the C&O Canal online using Google Street View tour. This 3D tour starts at Lockhouse 44 and allows you to discover the C&O Canal to the Cumberland Terimus. Use the map functions to "walk the towpath" and explore the different canal towns! Look closely... What can you find?