During this middle weekend in April, the weather in the District of Columbia has been amazing. During my 4 hours of volunteer docent duty on Sunday and Monday at the Arlington House I had the pleasure of speaking to about 750 and 500 people on each day.  It is spring break in the Massachusetts school system so lots of families and middle school classes made their way to the nation's capital to explore, see the sites and learn history. Fortunately, one of those sites is Arlington National Cemetery to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Most folks also stop to see Arlington House, the Robert E. Memorial. Many people have no idea about the history of the plantation house or the people who live there, nor are they aware that the land encompassing the cemetery was once an 1,100-acre plantation. We help to tell that story.

On Monday, I had the pleasure of presenting a Junior Ranger badge to each one of these three girls. Notice the vests worn by the two Junior Rangers to my left.  Each had more than 20 badges collected by completed the Junior Ranger program at other National Park Services sites around the country. WOW!! The parents gave me permission to share this photo with you to help illustrate how programs like this one can enhance the experiences of children during visits to our National Parks.  Even visits to Arlington House with its difficult history can be enhanced by improving the presentation of materials and information.  That also includes the name of sites like this one that we are working to redesignate as Arlington House National Historic Site.

To earn a Junior Ranger badge young people participate in an activity-based program by completing a Junior Ranger booklet with questions about the site they are visiting. Once completed, they recite the Junior Ranger motto of their own to protect parks, continue to learn about parks, and share their own ranger story with friends and family.  I always add 'and will ask a lot of questions.'

Arlington House descendants are working with the National Park Service staff at Arlington House to update the existing Junior Ranger program pamphlet to make it more inclusive of the history at the site. We encourage young participants to ask questions and seek help from parents and Rangers to complete the booklet. By doing so, everyone's perspective is broadened, participants learn to inquire about the spaces they are experiencing and communication about tough topics becomes more comfortable.