Historical park trains kids to be Jr. Rangers

A shiny park ranger badge may do more to lure children into learning about history than several textbooks. After visiting various spots in a park, completing a workbook and promising to protect park resources, a badge and a certificate are formally presented to each new junior ranger.

At the TumacĂ¡cori National Historical Park, children can walk through the historical ruins and imagine what life was like for Native Americans, Spaniards and the priests who lived there. They can visit an O’odham (Pima) house and try to grind corn with the mano and metate (mortar and pestle).

The junior ranger program at the TumacĂ¡cori Park was due for a revision, said Vicki Wolfe, a ranger in the park’s interpretation and education department. “It was out of date. Some things needed to be updated. Some of the photographs were out of date, and through time, more information (has been) discovered” by the park’s chief of interpretation, Don Garate.

As well, the park museum was remodeled and updated in the past year, and the park was expanded several years ago with a fruit tree orchard similar to what was planted 250 years ago, and that needed to be reflected in the guide.

Wolfe applied for assistance to update the junior ranger guide from the non-profit Student Conservation Association, based in New Hampshire. The SCA approved the request, and assigned an intern to assist in the project. Gay Contreras, who hopes to change careers after 23 years at the University of Arizona, was the applicant chosen to work in the three-month internship at TumacĂ¡cori.

The grant award covered her salary cost and provided $10,000 for junior ranger supplies and publication costs for new materials for youngsters.

Together, Contreras and Wolfe have developed a new “Seek and Find” guide, based on the older version, for children and their families to use when visiting TumacĂ¡cori. It’s in a draft form and Wolfe expects it to be completed and available for youngsters in October.

The goal, Wolfe said, is “to make history interesting and fun for the children.” The guide “focuses them on listening to the sounds around them and looking for specific things they might not otherwise notice.”

At the same time, “We want to connect young people with our national parks so they understand their significance and learn to care about them.”

Wolfe, with the park service for 26 years, started in her position in October 2008, replacing Roy Simpson. Before that she worked at Death Valley National Park in California and while there she updated the junior park ranger guide, she said.

Another of Wolfe’s duties is to oversee the education program. The park is a popular spot for field trips for elementary school students, with a busload scheduled about twice a week.

“We see lots of fourth graders because part of the curriculum is for them to study state history,” she said.

Wolfe said she welcomes anyone interested in becoming a volunteer at the park and helping with tours for school children. A junior ranger booklet, separate from the guide, will be updated in the coming months, and aid would be appreciated on that project. “I’m looking for people with experience and interest for those kinds of things,” she said.

Contreras said the internship, which concludes Sept. 3, was rewarding and that she was happy to help update the guide. “I’m hoping to change careers and to work for the National Park Service,” she said. “This gives me some experience.”

In addition to her salary, the SCA program will provide Contreras with an expense-paid five-day training program at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, and she will be eligible for a $1,250 AmeriCorps education award.

Wolfe invites families to visit to the TumacĂ¡cori National Historic Park and ask for the Junior Ranger Program. The entry fee is $3 for those over age 16, and free for those younger. Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, the park is at Exit 29 off of Interstate 19. For information, call (520) 398-2341 where Wolfe is at Ext. 72. A Web site with more details is located at www.nps.gov/tuma.

(Reach the writer at kathleenvan@msn.com.)