Become a Junior Ranger at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

You can earn three Junior Ranger badges at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

NPS Photo / Ryan Corcilius

While most national parks have only one Junior Ranger program and badge, at Frt Vancouver National Historic Site you can earn up to three different Junior Ranger badge: one at Fort Vancouver, one at Pearson Air Museum, and one at the McLoughlin House. 

Each location has its own Junior Ranger booklet or scavenger hunt to complete. We encourage people of all ages to collect them all! Each Junior Ranger booklet focuses on that site's history. While earning the Fort Vancouver badge, you will learn about the fur trade at the Hudson's Bay Company fort. While earning the Pearson Air Museum badge, you will learn about early aviation in Vancouver. To earn the McLoughlin House badge, you will learn about Dr. John McLoughlin, who is known as the "Father of Oregon."

There is no additional fee for Junior Ranger programs. 

The Junior Ranger programs are challenging but fun. Though they are designed for children ages 6-12, younger children can complete it with help. We encourage people of all ages to earn their Junior Ranger badges! Make your next visit to Fort Vancouver National Historic Site an informative and rewarding experience by participating in this program!

Learn more and download a Fort Vancouver Junior Ranger booklet here.

Details

Activity

Junior Ranger Program

Pets Allowed

No

Pets are not allowed inside Fort Vancouver, Pearson Air Museum, or the McLoughlin House, so they are not ideal companions for completing a Junior Ranger program. Pets are allowed on the grounds of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and the McLoughlin House Unit as long as they are on a leash no longer than 6 feet and their waste is picked up and disposed of. Learn more about bringing pets to Fort Vancouver National Historic Site here.

Activity Fee

Yes

The Junior Ranger program is free of charge. There is an entrance fee to the reconstructed Fort Vancouver, but there is no entry fee at Pearson Air Museum and the McLoughlin House.

Learn more about fees and passes here.

Reservations

No

Season

Year Round

Time of Day

Day

The Junior Ranger program is offered during operating hours at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Learn more about operating hours here.

Accessibility Information

Service animals for disabilities are welcome at all locations. Wheelchairs are available upon request at the Reconstructed Fort and Pearson Air museum. ADA parking is available at all locations.

For questions about accessibility at Fort Vancouver, call [phone]
For questions about accessibility at Pearson Air Museum, call [phone]
 

Become a Junior Ranger
at Pearson Air Museum

What can you see, hear, and feel at Pearson Air Museum? Use your senses to learn about the history of flight in Vancouver, Washington. Earn your Junior Ranger Badge by completing at least one activity in each category (see, hear, and feel) on the checklist. When you're done exploring, head to the museum lobby to tell a Park Ranger what you found.

Complete at least one item in each category.

See life-size and model aircraft from the early aviation era. See a scaled model of the massive Spruce Cut-Up Mill which occupied this land during World War I. See a life-size tent that Spruce Mill soldiers would have lived in.

Hear planes flying in and out of Pearson Field, the active municipal airfield just south of the museum. Hear the film in the Tex Rankin Theater. Hear birds zooming through the park, and consider how they inspired the first flights.

Feel the excitement and wonder of the world's first flights. Imagine the exhileration that early pilots would have felt as they experimented with flight.