Kids ages 5-12 can pick up a Junior Ranger booklet for $2.50 at any park visitor center, and after completing the activities in the book they’ll get a bona fide Junior Ranger badge. 

Check out these summer offerings on the N.C. side of the park: 

Mondays

• Welcome Home! Kids will hear the story of the elks return on the porch of Oconaluftee Visitor center in a 45-minute program starting at 2 p.m.

Tuesdays

• Salamanders! Kids will explore salamander habitats in search of the amphibians in a 1.5-hour program starting at 10 a.m. in the Mingus Mill Parking Area. 

• Stream Splashers. Kids will search a mountain stream for salamanders, damselflies and other critters in a 1.5-hour program starting at 2 p.m. in the Oconaluftee River next to the Mountain Farm Museum, which is adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

• #findyourpark. Look into National Parks across the country with a ranger in a 1-hour program beginning at 3 p.m. on the Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch. 

Wednesdays

• Neighbors or Nuisances? Learn about three small animals found in the park and decide whether they are friend or foe in a 45-minute program beginning 11 a.m. on the Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch. 

• Pack Your Day Pack. Kids will learn the knack of what to pack before hitting the trail in a 45-minute program starting at 1 p.m. on the Oconaulftee Visitor Center porch. 

Thursdays

• Guided Hike to Chasteen Creek Waterfall. A moderate 3-mile roundtrip hike to Chasteen Creek Falls will parallel Bradley Fork, starting off from the Bradley Fork Trailhead in Smokemont Campground at 10 a.m. 

• Animal Defenses. Kids will learn about how animals big and small fend off those larger than themselves in a 45-minute program beginning at 2 p.m. on the Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch. 

• Mammal Mania! Kids will get a chance for some hands-on discovery of animals in the park in a 45-minute program on the Oconaluftee Visitor Center’s south porch at 4 p.m. 

Fridays

• Be a Blacksmith. Kids ages 10-12 will learn enough about blacksmithing to create their own items to take home in a 30-minute program at the Mountain Farm Museum adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center, at 10, 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m.  

• Batteries Not Included. Children will discover how kids had fun in the pre-electricity days, even taking home a “buzz button” of their own, in a 30-minute program at the Mountain Farm Museum, adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center at 10, 10:30, 11 and 11:30 a.m. 

• Leave No Trace! Kids will learn how to  minimize their impact in the great outdoors in a 45-minute program beginning at 12:30 p.m. on the Oconaluftee Visitor Center porch. 

Saturdays

• Stream Splashers. Kids will search a mountain stream for salamanders, damselflies and other critters in a 1.5-hour program at 3 p.m. in the Oconaluftee River next to the Mountain Farm Museum, which is adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center. (Starts June 27.)

• Find Your Park. Kids will discover how the National Park Service, which turns 100 years old next year, got started in a 45-minute program at 5 p.m. in the Tree Cookie Area adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. 

Sundays

• From Snout to Tail…Everything But the Squeal! Kids will learn about the mountain farmer’s “best friend” at the Mountain Farm Museum adjacent to Oconaluftee Visitor Center in a 45-minute program at 5 p.m. 

 • Smoky Mountain Elk. Kids will learn about the history of elk in the park and watch their nighttime arrival at the Palmer House in Cataloochee Valley in a 45-minute program starting at 5:30 p.m.

 • Night Hike. Kids will learn about the wonders found only when the sun goes down during a 1-hour hike from Bradley Fork Trailhead in Smokemont Campground  at 8:45 p.m. RSVP four days in advance to 828.497.1904. 

Monday-Friday

Feeding time! Kids will help park staff close up the Mountain Farm Museum, next to Oconaluftee Visitor Center, for the evening — even helping to feed the pigs and chickens — in a 30-minute program starting at 6 p.m.