Olympic National
Park sources

Olympic National Park, along with other National Park Service sites throughout the country, will waive entrance fees April 16-24 as part of National Park Week.

 

The park also plans special events for Saturday, April 16, including National Junior Ranger Day and Greenhouse Day.

National Junior Ranger Day

Children of all ages are invited to bring their favorite adult to the free National Junior Ranger Day celebration, scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 16, at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center, 3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles.

 

Special activities are scheduled throughout the day, including four 30-minute ranger-guided walks at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 and 1:30. Microscopes will be set up for in-depth views of insects and plants, the Children’s Discovery Room will be open for play and exploration, and the park’s award-winning orientation film will be shown.

 

Children must be accompanied by an adult. Junior Ranger Day activities are designed to be fun and enjoyable for adults, too.

 

Olympic’s Junior Ranger program is a special year-round way for children and families to experience and enjoy the park. Children complete Junior Ranger activity booklets, attend a ranger program and explore park nature trails to earn a Junior Ranger badge and certificate.

 

For more information on National Junior Ranger Day, call 565-3146.

Greenhouse Day and open house

Olympic National Park and the nonprofit partner group Friends of Olympic National Park will host a spring open house from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 16 at the Matt Albright Native Plant Center in Robin Hill Farm County Park, located between Port Angeles and Sequim. The greenhouse is most easily accessed from the north entrance to the park.

 

“Me, Myself & I,” a one-man band and musical show by Mike Kampaus, performs throughout the afternoon.

 

Find out more at www.friendsonp.org/upcoming events/plantnurseryapril16.html.

 

Last year, park staff propagated more than 35,000 native plants at the native plant center for revegetation projects throughout the park. Goals for 2011 are even bigger: More than 60,000 plants will be propagated, approximately 25,000 of which will be installed in the Elwha Valley this year as revegetation begins in the Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills reservoirs.