On Saturday, April 21, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites kids of all ages to participate in hands-on activities for National Junior Ranger Day. Potential Junior Rangers visiting Chickamauga Battlefield can participate in activities on the hour beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 12 p.m., then travel to Point Park on Lookout Mountain to engage in other activities on the hour beginning at 2 p.m. and ending at 4 p.m.

Junior Ranger candidates visiting Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center will have the opportunity to learn about journalism during the Spanish American War and become either journalists or newspaper artists for a day. As such, they will either sketch or interview living historians portraying soldiers who trained at Camp Thomas on Chickamauga Battlefield in 1898. Upon completing this activity, participants will receive a Junior Ranger badge and certificate.

At the Ochs Museum, inside scenic Point Park on Lookout Mountain, Junior Ranger candidates will learn about the importance of signaling during the Civil War. They will construct cipher disks that they will use to decode important messages sent by soldiers during the Siege of Chattanooga in 1863. Completion of this activity will earn the participants a Junior Ranger badge and certificate.

For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the park’s website nps.gov/chch.