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2
Becoming a Junior Ranger
Welcome aboard the Maple Leaf®! You are about to embark on the journey of becoming a
Junior Ranger.
As a Junior Ranger, your mission will is to:
Explore—You will see a lot of exciting and important landmarks
during your trip. Be on the lookout for opportunities to explore!
Learn—Find out how much you can learn during your trip by
completing this activity booklet; but your journey does not end here!
Along with Amtrak® trains, the Junior Ranger Program is offered in
many national parks across the United States.
Protect—Did you know that riding on a train is better for the Earth
than driving in a car? One of the jobs of a National Park Ranger is to
protect the land and animals in our country. By riding on this train and
learning about the land and wildlife, you too are helping protect our
environment and country.
What’s next?
Find and circle your age group. The number of activities you should complete to become a
Junior Ranger will be next to your age group, but you’re welcome to try them all!
Age
Number of Activities
6 and Under
3-5
7-12
6-8
13 and Older
9-11
Meet Casey the Engineer Bear
SM
3
Hey there! My name is Casey and I’m an Amtrak
train engineer. I travel all across the country driving
trains to take people wherever they need to go.
Along the way, I teach people about the cool places
they travel through. That’s because I also help with
the Trails & Rails program, which provides educational opportunities for passengers on board trains.
I have learned a lot about the country and would
love to share some of what I know with you. Today,
I’m here to teach you about the route traveled by
your train, the Maple Leaf.
.
The Maple Leaf is a train route that travels daily between the cities of New York City, New
York in the U.S. and Toronto, Ontario in Canada. The route is 544 miles long and usually takes
about 12 and a half hours to complete. It only goes through one state, New York, but it is one
of the few train routes that goes into another country! It also passes by and through many cool
cities and national parks, like Albany, New York and the Women’s Rights National Historic
Park.
This is a map of the Maple Leaf route that we are going to travel today. This booklet has a lot
of fun activities that will teach you about this route and the amazing things you can find along
the way. Are you ready to learn about the Maple Leaf?
Let’s Get Started!
4
I-Spy Activity
Big River
Mountain
Bear
Boat
Eagle
Cow
Elm Tree
Bridge
Raccoon
Maple Tree
Pine Tree
Vineyard
Conductor
Rain Cloud
Deer
Creek
The Maple Leaf is a long route that goes through many different ecosystems. An ecosystem is
made up of all the living (animals and plants) and nonliving (soil, air, water, etc.) parts in an
area. Mountains, prairies, forests, and rivers are just a few of the cool ecosystems you’ll see.
As a result, you have the chance to see many unique animals and plants if you watch carefully
as you travel.
In this I-Spy activity, see how many of the items you can spot. You can cross them out once
you’ve seen them. Some of the items will be easier to find than others and some may only be
found once along the route. See if you can find them all. Play with a friend to see who can spot
the most!
New York City Fun Facts
5
New York is the start or end of this route, depending on where
you are going, and it is the biggest city in the U.S. There are
lots of cool facts about New York, as you can see below!
Complete these fun facts by unscrambling the words below
them. If you have trouble, use the pictures to help you.
Fun Fact #1
One of New York’s most famous landmarks
is a gift from the French and can be seen in
New York Harbor. It is the Statue of _____ .
B T LYR I E
Fun Fact #3
Another important attraction is ____ Square.
This intersection is a symbol of New York
and is called “The Crossroads of the World.”
MSTEI
Fun Fact #5
Many people like to celebrate New Year’s
Eve in New York City. At exactly midnight,
a giant ____ drops to celebrate a new year.
LALB
Fun Fact #2
The city of New York has many nicknames.
One of these nicknames is “The Big ____ .”
P E PAL
Fun Fact #4
New York City is very, very big and is split
into five boroughs. They are: Brooklyn, the
Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and _____.
EQNESU
Fun Fact # 6
____ Park, which is the biggest park in New
York, is the most visited city park in the U.S.
TE LR NAC
Sailing Down the Hudson River
6
The Hudson River is a 315 mile river that flows down the eastern side of New York state. starting in the Adirondack Mountains, it flows past many cities, including the state capital of Albany, before emptying into the bay in New York City. The Hudson River is incredibly important because it provides a way for boats and ships to travel to the Great Lakes. Although the
Hudson does not flow directly into the Great Lakes, a series of canals were built in the mid1800’s to connect the river and the lakes. The river and the series of canals connected to it allow boats to go from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes without travelling into Canada. As
a result, many different boats of all shapes and sizes travel up and down the Hudson everyday.
Complete the crossword below using the word bank to help you. Once you are finished, use the
highlighted letters to unlock the secret word!
A Trip up the River
Across
2. This flat bottomed boat brings heavy goods up rivers and canals.
4. This boat brings people across rivers and small lakes.
5. A boat with a pointed bow that pushes other boats; creating a tug.
7. This structure blocks a river from flowing naturally.
9. This boat is powered by steam.
Down
1. People can walk or drive on this structure across a river.
3. This boat is made to travel up rivers.
5. A boat with a squared-off bow that is also used for pushing boats;
its name is similar to a popular vehicle that tows cars.
6. This structure lets you travel underneath a river.
8. A waterway built to connect two other bodies of water.
Word Bank
Barge
Steamboat
Riverboat
Tugboat
Towboat
Ferry
Bridge
Tunnel
Canal
Dam
Secret Word:
P
For answer, see page 14!
Hint: This person is
in charge of the ship.
The Fort that Never Surrendered
7
Fort Stanwix is known as "the fort that never surrendered," because in 1777 it successfully repelled a prolonged attack by British, German, Loyalist, Canadian, and American Indian troops
and warriors. The fort’s win, combined with the battles at Oriskany, Bennington, and Saratoga
led to American alliances with France and the Netherlands. French aid was especially important to America, and without their help the Americans may not have won.
During war, army messages were often sent in code to keep the message secret if the messenger was captured by the enemy. Crack the code to read a message the Americans may have
sent to General Washington after a battle was over. Hint: Look closely at the examples given.
There is a pattern you will need to figure out to find more letters!
Answer:
Code:
U I F
X F
Z A B C
A B C D
0 1 2
1 2 3
C S J U J T I
I B W F
X P O
S A R A T O G A
T B S B U P H B
T V S S F O E F S F E
U I F
C B U U M F
!
!
For answer, see page 14!
Pretend you were a soldier stationed at Fort Stanwix. Write a letter back to your parents telling them about how you felt during the attacks. Include any emotions you may have felt after
the victory.
8
Albany, New York
Fist settled in 1614 and made a city in 1686, Albany, New York is one of the oldest surviving
cities in the U.S. Originally settled by the Dutch, the city was taken over by the British and
renamed after the Duke of Albany. Today, the city is one of the largest in New York.
One of the biggest arguments in U.S. history has always been over federal versus state powers.
Part of the reason the Civil War began was because Southern states felt the Federal
Government was too strong and violated states’ rights. Today, the Federal Government and
state governments follow the rules laid out by the Constitution and share powers well together.
In this activity, use the constitutional powers listed at the bottom to sort out whether the
actions below are powers of the state government, federal government, or both.
Proposed Action
Create an army infantry
Create a tax on apples
Build a new highway
Resolve a trade argument
between two states
Issue a drivers license
Sign a peace treaty with
Russia
Make a new anti-smoking
law
Create a new county
government
Hold an election for
president
Print twenty dollar bills
Settle a city trade
argument
Take out a loan
Federal
Both
State
Create an army infantry
Fun Fact: The Supremacy Clause in the Constitution states
that Federal law is the “Law of the Land” and that in a
dispute between the two, Federal law overrules State law.
Constitutional Powers
Federal
Print money
Declare war or make treaties
Build an army or navy
Regulate trade between states
Both
Create taxes
Build courts and highways
Borrow money
Create and enforce laws
State
Issue licenses
Create local governments
Regulate trade within a state
Conduct elections
Seneca Falls and Women’s Rights
9
In the activity below, use the word bank to complete the timeline of some of the major events
that occurred in the Women’s Rights Movement.
The first women’s rights
convention is held in the
city of __________.
Jeannette Rankin from
Montana becomes the first
woman elected to _______.
Sandra Day O’Conner becomes
the first woman judge to sit on
the _______________.
1981
1917
1920
1893
1869
1869
1848
_______ becomes the first
territory to grant women suffrage.
Some states begin to
______ their constitutions,
granting women suffrage.
___________ and ___________ founded
the National Women Suffrage Association.
Word Bank
Supreme Court
Amend
Susan B. Anthony
19th
Congress
Seneca Falls
Wyoming
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
The ____ amendment is passed
in Congress, granting all women
in the U.S. the right to vote!!
Women have always been important to the survival of the human race. But throughout history,
men often viewed women as inferior to themselves and not fit to handle much else besides
raising the family and taking care of the home. Men handled society and did not allow women
to vote, work in jobs designated for men, or even go certain places. These viewpoints began to
change in the US in the late 1800’s when women began to stand up for their rights. Susan B.
Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other leading ladies were among the most famous of
those women who stood up to society and campaigned for more rights and equality for their
gender. Suffrage, or the right to vote, equality in the workforce, and more opportunities were
just a few of the causes they championed. Many of these ladies campaigned for equality in
other areas as well, such as race and religion.
10
Buffalo Blizzards
Buffalo, New York and the surrounding area is known for having a lot of snow. This is because
Lake Erie creates a lake effect on the city, which is when cold air travels over warmer lake water causing water droplets to form in the clouds. In winter, this becomes snow. Though snow is
fun to play in, it can be dangerous if there is too much. Blizzards are snowstorms with winds of
more than 35 mph that reduce visibility and last longer than three hours. One of the most famous blizzards to hit Buffalo was the Blizzard of 1977, which had winds of up to 70 mph and
blew over 30 ft of snow in some areas!
Pretend that you and Casey have decided to become storm chasers and yesterday you were
trapped by a blizzard! Draw a picture of what you saw and describe the weather conditions.
Local Weather Update
Temperature
Wind Speed
Amount of
Snowfall (in)
In weather news, storm chasers Casey and Jr. Ranger-in-Training ________________ were
trapped by a blizzard last night in Buffalo, New York. They took this amazing photo as evidence.
Blizzard Safety Tips…
Listed below are some good safety tips to follow during a blizzard and some things you should
not do. Circle the good advice and cross out the bad.
Seek shelter immediately
after a blizzard begins.
Sit in your car during a
blizzard.
Have a disaster plan ready
before a blizzard strikes.
During a blizzard, run outside in your underwear.
Stay inside and do all you
can to stay warm.
Have enough food and water to last three days.
Watch for fallen trees and
power lines after blizzards.
Whatever your parents say
to do, do the opposite.
Drive often and wherever
you want during a storm.
An Afternoon on the Lake
11
Lake Ontario touches New York and the province of Ontario, and is the second largest of the
five Great Lakes. Many people go to the lake every year to have fun, relax, and hang out with
friends and family.
Complete the following story with a friend or family member. Without showing your partner
the story, ask them to provide the type of word listed below each blank. Once you have filled
all the blanks, read the story out loud to your partner for a laugh!
and I decided to
One day, my friend
across
Name
Verb
, named
Lake Ontario. We took our pet
Animal
packed
, and
Name
for lunch just in case we got hungry. When we
Food
got to the lake, we took out our
and put them in the water. The lake was
Noun
but we were not
very
Adjective
. The day was
Adjective
. We knew we could do it.
of
Noun
and we had plenty
Adjective
hours after we set off across the lake,
Number
scary
Number
came out of nowhere and attacked us! They threw
Animal
a lot of
at us and we almost drowned. We were scared,
Noun
but our pet came to the rescue. In a
voice, he asked, “Why
Adjective
are you so angry?” They replied, “Because you stole our
.” But we had not
Noun
stolen their
and we told them so. They believed us and became very
Same Noun
with them for a while. When it was almost dark, they
friendly, so we
Verb
gave us quite a few
and
Noun
us as we went home. What a fun day!
to take with
Noun
12
Exploring Toronto
Help Casey find each word in the word search below.
York University
Ontario
Bird Kingdom
Hockey
CN Tower
N J Z
L I D
U O M
C A N
WH Z
U O R
Y V Y
E V P
P S F
Y I A
Q L P
Q K S
T K H
P I I
B D Z
WF H
G D H
J WG
U G F
N O E
T
N
A
Q
K
D
O
O
A
Z
J
I
V
R
U
H
I
X
Y
B
F
L
F
Z
P
A
R
T
E
P
O
J
T
J
A
F
I
H
E
P
U
B
N
X
K
Q
V
E
L
S
I
R
E
C
R
R
X
Q
K
T
V
C
U
N
C
Z
Y
R
E
V
R
M
N
Q
T
F
I
R
A
J
U
S
A
C
Z
Y
K
E
L
A
A
Y
F
J
U
B
B
T
D
P
Cinesphere
Raptors
Arts
O
N
N
P
J
D
Y
H
P
M
T
N
Q
G
R
Z
M
A
K
M
I X
Q Z
D X
A X
WQ
L S
R C
C E
R R
H D
G G
Y E
J P
H F
L N
C Q
R I
G T
R B
G V
G R U H Y
N A L L T
E P N WI
N T H R S
WO V F R
F R F B E
Y S H B V
P S E N I
A MR B N
V F S F U
N O Z G K
K H G T R
WK N P O
WB T J Y
L H N S X
P WJ H B
Q X Z J Y
T X WT N
L D X D K
T O A G U
Discovery District
Maple Leafs
K
U
N
V
Q
T
K
P
O
G
K
Z
D
L
V
V
B
B
P
P
S T
MM
WG
G C
V E
R J
Q L
R T
Y H
E Z
G P
I X
MN
C E
K K
Y E
S T
Q T
L N
U T
G
M
X
C
E
O
J
K
J
U
B
T
Q
G
Y
K
R
L
Q
D
V Q P
R A N
E MP
WM B
O L V
T V Z
N D A
C K P
J Y R
S T U
R K E
U R K
N K N
J C S
D L V
C O H
A WM
B Y A
K N Q
N O U
T K
K Q
T S
J A
WE
T T
E A
H I
T P
G Z
A K
Y R
O C
B D
F K
U U
Z I
J A
G R
K M
Did you know that the city of Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the capital of the
Province of Ontario? A province is similar to a state in the USA. Like New York and Los Angeles, Toronto has major industries in education, entertainment, transportation, tourism and
many more. The city is also the only Canadian city that has five major league sports: hockey,
basketball, football, soccer and baseball. Toronto has a lot of history; you can learn some of it
by finding the words in the wordsearch above. These words are all interesting places or names
that are important to the city. If you do not know about any of the words, look them up when
you get home; you might find them interesting!
13
Map Your Own Route
You are the engineer now. Are you ready to drive the Maple Leaf and create your own adventure? Use one coin to flip and another coin to mark each player. Heads moves you one space
and tails moves you two. First to finish, wins!
START
You
lose your
ticket at the
train station.
Move back one
space.
Explore
Hudson River
Park. Move
ahead two spaces.
Take a tour
of Lady Liberty
and explore
New York City.
Flip again.
Rain
drenches you
while taking a
stroll in Delaware
Park in Buffalo.
Lose a turn.
Learn
about the
Battle of Saratoga at
Saratoga National
Historic Park.
Flip again.
You fall
asleep and
miss your train.
Move back
four spaces.
Enjoy a
day sightseeing
in Toronto!
FINISH
Sharing Your Memories
14
One of the most important things to do while traveling is to keep a record of what you see and
do so that you can save those memories and share them with others. Sharing memories was
very important in the Civil War too. We have learned a lot of what we know about the hardships of the war and its battles from journals, letters, and memoirs written not only by the officers in charge, but by ordinary soldiers fighting on the front lines.
As the last stop in your journey, think of your favorite view from the train trip. Use the box below to draw that view and save your memory forever.
Answer to page 6: “Captain”
Answer to page 7: “The British surrendered! We have won the battle!”
Certificate of Completion
This certifies that
has completed all activities for the
Maple Leaf
Trails & Rails Award
®
and is hereby granted the official title of
National Park Service Junior Ranger
Junior Ranger Pledge:
“I promise to discover all I can about the special places protected by the
National Park Service and share my discoveries with others. I pledge to
enjoy and protect the plants, the animals, and the historic places of my
country.”
Junior Ranger Signature
Trail & Rails Guide
Date
What’s Next?
Congratulations on completing your Maple Leaf activity booklet! We
hope you enjoyed the activities, but the fun isn’t over yet!
Visit More Amtrak Routes
®
The Maple Leaf is not the only railroad route
with a Junior Ranger Program. Amtrak has
routes that travel all across the country. If you
ever find yourself on another Amtrak route, ask
if they have a Junior Ranger Program too!
Listed below are just a few routes that have Junior Ranger Programs: You can
visit Amtrak.com to see them all!
Adirondack®
Crescent®
Texas Eagle®
City of New Orleans®
Silver Service®
Capitol Limited®
Become a Web Ranger
You can also become a Web Ranger! If
you have access to the internet and your
parents’ permission, then you can create
a Web Ranger account and start being a
Web Ranger today. You can find more
fun activities, design your own ranger
station, and connect with Junior Rangers all over the world!
Visit www.nps.gov/webrangers to get
started today!
Printed by the National Park Service.
This book and its full contents are public property and are reproducible for non-commercial, educational purposes.
Amtrak, Maple Leaf, Casey the Engineer Bear, Adirondack, Capitol Limited, City of New Orleans, Crescent, Silver Service and Texas
Eagle are service marks of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.