By the Lewis & Clark Trust, Inc., Friends Group of the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
People participating in the Junior Ranger Day Program. Courtesy of Lewis and Clark Trust, Inc.
The award-winning Lewis and Clark Trail Junior Ranger Program, developed by Caitlin Campbell, Interpretive Specialist at Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, was presented to an enthusiastic group of young visitors at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, Kentucky during the summer of 2022. The Lewis and Clark Trail Junior Ranger Program received first place in the book category of the 2021 National Association for Interpretation Media Awards and was also given the Midwest Region Freeman Tilden Award for Excellence in Interpretation.
Claire Kolkmeyer, Park Interpreter at Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, took the program to a new high and organized a Junior Ranger Day Program that included volunteers from the Friends of Big Bone who provided displays of Big Bone replica materials and much needed tents for shade. Using the Lewis and Clark Trail Junior Ranger Program and the Fisher Lewis and Clark Discovery Chest along with a replica of “Big Bones,” the event was an overwhelming success.
The effort of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, Big Bone Lick State Historic Site, and the Friends of Big Bone is a vivid example of the strength of collaboration to educate and preserve.