Jr. Ranger Academy

Find out what it takes to be a Junior Ranger through four mornings of fun summer programs, activities, and crafts all about the park!

Did you know children 12 and under get free entry to all Texas State Parks and State Natural Areas? Bring your Jr. Rangers out for some fun activities that will teach them how to safely have fun in the outdoors, appreciate nature and all its inhabitants and spark an interest in jobs that protect our natural resources. 

*This is our first year hosting a Jr. Ranger Academy and for our inaugural year, parents or guardians will be required to stay with their Jr. Ranger through out the entire programming. In future years, we hope to make this a "day camp", drop off or stay opportunity but we will build up to that style academy with our volunteers possibly next year. 

Please register so that we know the amount of materials we need to have for the crafts and activities. There might be a cap limit on participation for some days and there will be a waitlist if that limit is reached. 

To register please email Madalyn.Miller@tpwd.texas.gov list the date(s) you'd like to participate in and how many children and adults are in your group as well as the age of the children. 

These programs are age appropriate for children 7-13 but younger or older siblings are welcomed to participate as well. Younger children will need extra help from an adult. Adults will be participating in a lot of the activities with their Jr. Ranger(s).

Meet: Inside Bastrop State Park Refectory 

Check in is between 9:45 to 10am. Please be checked in, inside the Refectory and ready to participate in the activities by 10am. There are restrooms inside the Refectory but you're also welcome to use the restrooms at the Piney Hill Restroom by the playground and fill your water bottles at the filtered station there before 9:45am. 

Monday

• Leave No Trace with Trash Timeline Activity - Learn how to protect the parks and you! Then break into groups and compete to see who knows the trash breakdown timeline.
• Half mile guided hike to Copperas Creek for an Aquatic Life Underwater Discovery activity - Hike will be down rocky hill slope to the creek, then back up rocky hill back to Refectory. Use nets and tools to collect water bug samples, identify the water bugs and use the scientific method to determine if our stream is clean or contaminated.
• Frog vs Toad presentation/observation time with Frog Philharmonic activity - Learn about the differences of frogs and toads. Then learn about local frogs and toads that call the Lost Pines home and the sounds they make. Then become one of the local frogs or toads and make a chorus symphony using materials that make the same sounds as some toads and frogs.
• Frog/Toad mask craft & Toad Abode craft - color a tree frog or Houston toad mask and then make a toad abode that you can set up at home to make a friendly site for local toads. 

*Please bring bottled water, wear closed toe shoes for the guided hike, weather appropriate clothing for the heat, sunscreen, bug spray, hat and be prepared for a paint project (toad abode craft) at the end of the program.
*Please make sure your hands are washed and clean after applying sunscreen, lotion or bug spray since we will be interacting in a stream with local critters that call it home. 
*The guided hike will be a little over a quarter mile, we will be right next to a small creek bed taking water bug samples so be prepared to get a little wet and possibly muddy hands. 

Tuesday

• Life in the Civilian Conservation Corps - Go through the day of a CCC boy and learn why they were so important to our parks, then work with your group to design and build a cabin.
• Stories in the Sand - Find out what clues past groups have left behind and how they tell us the stories of the past. Archeologist Activity - dig for clues with your group and then share what story you think they tell with the other groups. 
• The CCC had a nick name - Roosevelt's Tree Army. Find out why and the different jobs they had. Learn about the Carpenter and Stone Mason, then carve your own creation - a soap tree! 
• Before you leave, make a seed ball to take home and help plant native plants like the CCC. 

*Please bring bottled water, wear weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen and closed toe shoes. Some programs will have short times outside, be prepared for short times out in the heat. 

*Archeology dig and seed ball making might get clothes dirty/sandy, please be prepared for that.

Wednesday - Wildland Firefighter Training

• Fire and Fuel - If we are not under a burn ban - Learn about the fire triangle, fuel types and how to safely build a fire and put it out. Then break out into groups to safely build your own fires and then safely put them out. 
• Fire Wise - Learn how to protect your own home in a fire prone ecosystem. Fire board activity - break into groups to design your own healthy and unhealthy forests and then see which one burns more extremely. 
• Day as a wildland firefighter - Learn how they dress, what tools they use, how they measure the weather with special instruments, and then go through a maze race to put your knowledge to the test.
• Meet a wildland firefighter, get close up to the wildland firetruck, then try your hand at putting out a "fire" - Take the hose and put out a wooden fire and enjoy some water play. 

Bring: Bottled water, wear weather appropriate clothing, sunscreen and closed toe shoes. Some activities will be outside for brief times. 
*Be prepared to learn safety around fire. Do not wear lose fitting clothes, keep long hair tied back. 
*Clothes might get wet at end of program.

Thursday

• Binoculars and Birds - Borrow our binoculars or bring your own. Learn how to correctly use binoculars and how fun birding can be! If your Jr. Ranger loves wildlife, birding is a great activity to get them interested in since you can do it everywhere! We will go for a short birding walk to identify native birds to the Lost Pines. 
• Wildlife Discovery - Learn about wildlife of the Lost Pines through skins, skulls, tracks and scat then make your own track cast. 
• Ten Essentials - Jr. Rangers will learn about safety in the outdoors and the ten essentials that will keep them safe and prepared in every outdoor adventure. 
• Badge Making Craft - Design your own button badge with paint! 
• An additional Binoculars craft will be available as well. 

Bring: Bottled water, wear weather appropriate clothes for the heat, sunscreen, and closed toe shoes. There will be a short birding walk. 
*Be prepared to play with clay for the track cast making and wear or bring clothes to change into that you don't mind getting paint on at the end of the program for the badge making craft. 

For any questions or to register, please email Madalyn.Miller@tpwd.texas.gov . 

The Jr. Ranger Academy programs are all free to participate in with a valid park entrance day pass. Day passes are $5 per adult aged 13 and up. Children 12 and under are free. 

Pets are not allowed inside the Refectory so all Jr. Ranger Academy programs are not pet friendly. 

Parents or guardians are required to stay with children during the entire program period.