TMP report
Posted: Thursday, April 23, 2009 1:20 pm

Clean up is continuing at Stones River National Battlefield, which is planning to hold its annual Junior Ranger Day Saturday and Sunday as scheduled.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, all children ages six and up will have the chance to participate in three special programs and earn Junior Ranger Day certificates and other prizes.

Young visitors will learn how to load and fire a Civil War cannon, discover how soldiers lived during the war, and practice marching like infantrymen.

They will also have the chance to participate in an interactive program that will help children discover the battle between native and exotic plants and animals that still rages on the battlefield today. When a child completes all of these activities he/she will be sworn in as a Junior Ranger.

All of the Junior Ranger Day events will take place near the visitor center. Many sections of the park are open, including the visitor center, national cemetery, Fortress Rosecrans, Redoubt Brannan and the generals’ headquarters sites.

We are gradually getting other areas open as we remove trees that were downed by the tornado on April 10.

Also on Saturday, more than 200 students from Paragon Mills Elementary School and their families will board buses in Nashville and travel to Stones River National Battlefield to celebrate Junior Ranger Day.

While at the park, the students and their families will participate in three special programs and earn commemorative certificates, patches and pins. Each family will also receive a Passport to Your National Parks that they can use to document their visits to parks across the nation.

This event is one of four programs made possible by a $10,000 grant from the National Park Foundation through the support of the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund. This grant has allowed the National Park Service to embark on a series of special projects and programs designed to engage teachers, families, and community groups in using the national parks as living classrooms and to encourage the public to re-connect with their national parks.

This effort is designed to take advantage of the increased publicity expected from the September release of Ken Burns’ new film The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, a co-production of PBS/WETA and Florentine Films that creates an unprecedented opportunity to use the dynamic medium of film to reach out to young people and adults through outreach programs.

Additional support for these programs has been provided by Nashville Public Television.

Lunch will be provided for the students their families thanks to the generous financial and volunteer support of Wal-Mart, particularly Wal-Mart Supercenter Stores #5057 (South Rutherford Boulevard) and #682 (Old Fort Parkway) in Murfreesboro. Other supporters include the Middle Tennessee Civil War Round Table,and Chick-fil-A at Murfreesboro Towne Centre.

These programs are a part of a series of interpretive programs offered at the battlefield during the year. Stones River National Battlefield is located on the Old Nashville Highway northwest of Murfreesboro. Additional information is available at the visitor center, by calling (615) 893-9501 or at the park website (http://www.nps.gov/stri).