Mesa Verde
Junior Ranger Booklet
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Mesa Verde National Park
Welcome to Mesa Verde National Park!
The National Park Service and its park rangers care for special places like Mesa Verde for today’s and future generations to enjoy. That means YOU, as well as your children and grandchildren!
Hi! My name is Kathy and this is my new friend, Gentle Rain. Gentle Rain and her family used to live in a Mesa Verde cliff dwelling 750 years ago. She helped me become a Junior Ranger, and now both of us want to help you.
Becoming a Junior Ranger is fun! As you explore the park, you will learn about Gentle Rain’s culture, look for items her family and friends might have used, and visit their homes. Just follow our directions and you’ll earn a Mesa Verde Junior Ranger badge in no time!
To earn your Mesa Verde Junior Ranger badge, just complete the following steps:
1. Complete the activity called “Being A Good Steward.”
2. Then, complete at least 3 more activities. Once you choose the activities you want to do, use these special codes to know which questions to answer for your age group:
| Ages 4-7 | Ages 8-9 | Ages 10-up |
3. Once you have finished steps 1 and 2 above, take your booklet to any park information center to receive your Mesa Verde Junior Ranger badge.
| Suggested Activities | |
|---|---|
| Half Day (2-3 hours) | |
| Being a Good Steward | 3 |
| Ancestral Puebloan Life | 4 |
| Times Have Changed | 6 |
| Cliff Dwelling Bingo | 10 |
| Suggested Activities | |
| Full Day or More | |
| Being a Good Steward | 3 |
| Ancestral Puebloan Life | 4 |
| Generations (Mesa Top Loop Drive) | 8 |
| A-Mazing Migration | 11 |
| or more..... | |
Acknowledgments
This Junior Ranger booklet was created through the partnership of the National Park Service (NPS), the National Park Foundation (NPF), and the Student Conservation Association (SCA) and was made possible through the generous support of Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., a National Corporate Partner of NPF. Thanks, also, to Junior Ranger Ambassador, Clint Herriman. To learn more about the online Junior Ranger program, visit www.nps.gov/webrangers.
Illustrations and artwork by Mary Lloyd, Talela Hales, Marna Bastian, DJ Webb, and Jim Tschetter. Use of “Through a Child’s Eyes,” on the cover and throughout booklet, courtesy of Mesa Verde Museum Association.
