To become a Junior Ranger at the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, visitors under 7 only need to complete activities in the booklet with Freddy the catfish. Visitors 7 and older can either complete the booklet or go on a ranger-led tour. The park is 72 miles long with many hiking and exploration opportunities. Visitors should ask rangers for recommendations. Once finished with the booklet or tour, visitors can get their Junior Ranger badge by talking to a ranger.

2. To become a Junior Ranger at the Mississippi National
River and Recreation Area you do one of these:
☐ Complete this activity booklet
☐ Go on a ranger lead tour of the lock
Under the age of seven?
If you are under the age of seven you
only have to do the activities with me,
Freddy the athead cat sh, next to them.
Explore the Park!
e Mississippi National River and
Recreation Area is 72 miles long
and has many great places to hike,
explore and learn. is is just a tiny
part of the park.
Ask a ranger for recommendations
on how you can experience this
unique park.
You are here
e 72 mile
long park
Write your rst name, age and the date you visited!
Name Age Date
Once you have completed either a tour
or this booklet go talk to a ranger to
get your badge and swear in.
Look out the window - you are right in the middle of a
bustling city, but did you know you can see wildlife right
from this very spot?
Can you match the animal the rangers have seen
with its name?
Bald Eagle
Common Snapping Turtle
Beaver
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose

3. Over 100 years ago this area made more our than
anywhere in the country. You can still see many of the
buildings from that time today!
Can you match the building with its name?
Washburn Mill
Pillsbury Mill
North Star Woolen Mill
Standard Mill
Stone Arch Bridge
Can you believe the same waterfall you see out the
window used to be 15 miles downstream in Saint Paul?
Geology of the falls
Use the displays to identify the types of rock that make up the falls.
Draw a picture below of what you think the falls would have looked
like over 12,000 years ago.

4. ere are 29 locks on the Mississippi River. Locks are
what help boats get past obstacles in the river.
Help the Towboat get through the lock!
Using your pencil ll up the lock with water so the towboat can
enter the lock.
What is the obstacle that the St Anthony Falls Lock helps boats get past?
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How do locks help you?
ese are some of the goods shipped through locks on the
Mississippi River. Circle the ones you and your family use.
Fuel Coal (electricity) Grain
Building Material Steel Fertilizer
In 1869, William Eastman tried to build a tunnel under
the river for his mills. is tunnel almost destroyed Saint
Anthony Falls when it collapsed.
Why does it matter?
Why was the collapse of the tunnel such a problem? Why did the
waterfall matter to the city so much?
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Save the falls!
Help the Corps of Engineers x the waterfall by guiding them
through the maze below.