National Park Week Begins with Junior Ranger Day

Kids get dirty at Junior Ranger Day.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: March 29, 2016

Contact: Melanie Rawlins, 520-377-5064

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service and "Find Your Park" by visiting Tumacácori National Historical Park during National Park Week, April 16 through 24. Entrance to the park is free all week.

Junior Ranger Day kicks off the annual National Park Week. This year at Tumacácori, visitors can become a Junior Ranger in three parks on a single day. On Saturday, April 16, from 9:00 to noon, families can participate in hands-on games, crafts, and activities at Tumacácori National Historical Park, Tubac Presidio State Historic Park, and along the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

"Junior Rangers are young people with curiosity, energy, and a desire to care for parks," says Superintendent Bob Love, "They've been around since long before the National Park Service."

Start the day at either Tumacácori or Tubac and pick up a program to map out the day's activities. There's time enough in the morning to visit both sites and participate in up to 15 different activities. Create an adobe brick, roll seedbombs, press leather, play games, hike the trail. (Don't forget to dress for mess!) Collect stamps on your program at each activity to turn in for prizes like pins, badges, stickers, and books. Admission to both Tubac and Tumacácori parks will be free.

National Park Week is a great opportunity to explore the countless ways there are to "Find Your Park." Launched in March 2015, Find Your Park / Encuentra Tu Parque is a public awareness and education movement to inspire people from all backgrounds to connect with, celebrate, and support America's national parks and community-based programs. Celebrating the National Park Service Centennial and setting the stage for the Service's next 100 years, #FindYourPark invites people to discover and share their own unique connections to our nation's natural landscapes, vibrant culture, and rich history.Visit FindYourPark.com to learn more about National Park Week and other events taking place throughout the country in this centennial year.

For more information on Junior Ranger Day or other events and activities at Tumacácori National Historical Park, call 520-377-5060, or visit the park website, at nps.gov/tuma.