National Junior Ranger Celebration (for the Public)

Becoming a Junior Ranger is an unforgettable experience. The Oldham County History Center can now offer children this rare opportunity through its partnership with the National Park Service. In honor of this recent alliance, a special event has been planned at the Oldham County History Center to celebrate National Junior Ranger Day 2018. Visitors can learn more about the program and Kentucky’s antebellum years, and earn a Junior Ranger badge! Saturday, April 14 will be geared toward the public from 10 am 1 pm. Events include activity stations: antebellum cooking, spinning, hand press, archaeology, songs with slave Hannah Abrams, Conductor Delia Webster, a Civil War encampment, SAR (Sons of the American Revolution) and Honey Hill Petting Zoo. For the special admission price of $5 per person on Saturday, visitors will also be able to tour the Peyton Samuel Head Family Museum and view exhibits relating to the antebellum years in Oldham County and learn about such people as freedom seekers Henry Bibb and Elisha Marrs, Underground Railroad conductor Delia Webster and Richard James Oglesby, who was born to a slave-holding family in Brownsboro and went on to become a three-time governor of Illinois and good friend to President Abraham Lincoln. The NPS Junior Ranger program is an activity based program conducted in almost all parks, which offers young visitors the opportunity to join the NPS “family” as certified Junior Rangers. Junior Rangers are typically between the ages of 5-13 years old, although people of all ages can participate. Last year, more than 800,000 children became Junior Rangers. In 2016, the Oldham County History Center earned two designations with the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. The J.C. Barnett Library & Archives was the only facility in the state of Kentucky to be included on the program. The Henry Bibb Escapes/Gatewood Plantation site in Trimble County is the site of ongoing archeological investigations that reveal details about life in antebellum Kentucky. Several public digs are held there each year under the supervision of noted archeologist Jeannine Kreinbrink. Cost for April 14 for the public is $5 per person and includes museum admission (4 and under free). For more information contact the Oldham County History Center at 502.222.0826.