Lincoln Boyhood National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Junior Ranger Activity Book
Welcome to Lincoln Boyhood 

National Memorial

The National Park Service manages nearly 400 parks, monuments, and historical sites 

in the United States. Park rangers protect all natural and cultural resources for the 

enjoyment of present and future generations.

Being a Lincoln Boyhood Junior Ranger is a special privilege and an honor. As a 

Junior Ranger you will:

• Take care of Lincoln Boyhood and other national parks.

• Explore Lincoln Boyhood and learn more about its history.

• Bring fun facts home to share with family and friends.
To Become a Lincoln Boyhood Junior Ranger

Complete activities in this booklet indicated by your age level below:

6 years of age and under. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 pages

Ages 7 to 10. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 pages

Ages 11 and up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .all pages

Return the completed booklet to the Memorial Visitor Center for review by a park 

ranger to receive your Junior Ranger award.

The Junior Ranger Program at Lincoln Boyhood 

National Memorial invites you to explore the:

Memorial Visitor Center and Museum

Park Orientation Film 

Pioneer Cemetery

Cabin Site Memorial

Living Historical Farm

and the Park Trails.

As you explore, be sure to visit different areas of the 

park and enjoy your Junior Ranger adventure. 

There is much to discover in YOUR national park. 1
Memorial Building Word Search

The Memorial Building was built to remember Abraham Lincoln and his mother Nancy Hanks 

Lincoln. There are many objects to look for while visiting the building. The Sculptured Panels on 

the front of the Memorial Building show significant periods in Abraham Lincoln’s life. Look for 

Abraham Lincoln in each panel!

Search for the items on the word list in the Memorial Building and in the word search puzzle below. 

Hint: look up/down, forward/back and diagonal.

Auditorium 

Fireplace

Museum

Panels

Balcony

Halls 

Organ

Pictures

Bust

Memorial

Painting 

Table

P I C T U R E S E S

Y N O C L A B U L F

M M A S I A P L B I

U M E G K R A D A R

S E R M R H I W T E

E R L T O O N R Y P

U I S A A R T A A L

M U I R O T I D U A

B L I S L E N A P C

E O U D M O G P L E

2
Angel Mother

In 1818, when Abraham Lincoln was only nine years old, his mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died 

from milk sickness and was buried in what became known as the Pioneer Cemetery. You can learn 

many things about the past from cemeteries; the headstones can give you clues. Inscriptions, or 

writings, on the headstones can tell about the person’s life. 

Visit the Pioneer Cemetery. What can you learn about Nancy by reading her headstone? 

List four facts about Nancy Hanks Lincoln.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Marking her gravesite was one way to remember Nancy 

Hanks Lincoln. We remember people today in many ways. 

One way is by drawing or taking a picture. 

Draw a picture of someone important to you.

3
Who Am I?

Answer the following questions using the clues and the word list below.

Use the letters in the squares to discover who is the Hidden Name.

4

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ He helped his father build a log ________ at his 

 new home in Indiana.

 

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ His new stepmother Sally brought three 

 _____and gave them to him.

 

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ Many people loved to hear him talk because 

 he had a talent for ______telling.

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ He was very close to his sister ______.

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ When he first moved to Indiana he saw a flock 

 of turkeys and asked his mother if he could

 ______ one. This was the last time he killed a 

 large animal.

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ He was very good at splitting ______.

________ ________ ________ ________ ________ He had a wonderful sense of _____ and loved 

 to laugh.

Who is the Hidden Name? 

_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

Word List

 rails

 Sarah

 humor

cabin

story

shoot

books

List three other facts that you have learned about this person?

1.

2.

3.
The year is 1816 and the Lincoln family is leaving Kentucky and moving to Indiana. Thomas and 

Nancy Lincoln have been married for 10 years so they have the usual amount of stuff in their one-room 

cabin. But, they won’t be able to take everything with them! Help them decide what to take to their 

new home. Remember, they must be able to load everything into their horse drawn wagon!

Read through the list below and put a check by the 20 things you think would be smart to take. 

Remember, Thomas is a carpenter; he can build his own furniture!

On the Move

___cured meats

___ corn

___ seeds

___ cow

___ tables

___ featherbed

___ clothes

___ chairs

___ spinning wheel

___ butter churn

___ cupboards

___ chickens

___ bed coverings

___ pewter dishes

___ wooden bowls

___ small pans

___ large kettle

___ dutch oven

___ spider skillet

___ musket

What else would you like to take with you? ______________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

 

Who would be moving with you? ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

___ buckets

___ axe

___ steel point for plow

___ carpentry tools

___ bedsteads

___ corner cabinet

___ quilts

___ cornmeal

___ cooking utensils

___ books

Historical Fact:

After crossing the Ohio River from Kentucky to Indiana on Thompson’s Ferry the Lincolns had 16 miles to go! This 

was the most difficult part of their journey. One of Lincoln’s neighbors related that Thomas “came in a horse wagon, 

cut his way to his farm with an ax felling trees as he went.” This journey made a deep impression on the little 7 yr. old 

Abraham who later said that he had “never passed through a harder experience than he did in going from Thompson’s Ferry to their homesite.”

5
Farm Scavenger Hunt

More than 180 years ago the Lincoln Family lived for 14 years where the National Park is today. 

Visit the Lincoln Living Historical Farm and discover pioneer life as experienced by Abraham 

Lincoln during his boyhood.

Draw a map of the farm as you see it today. 

Use the word list as a guide to help label the buildings.

Note: The location of the farm buildings is typical to the layout of many pioneer farms from the 1820’s.

6

Word List

cabin

smoke house

barn

carpenter shop

chicken coop

fence
Take A Hike

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is full of sights, sounds and smells. Pick up a map at the Visitor 

Center to find a trail that you would like to hike.

While you are hiking, tune into your senses and answer the questions. Remember to always hike with 

a friend or someone you know.

1. Describe the weather to your friend or parent. Is it cloudy or sunny? __________

 Do you feel warm or cold? __________

2. Find three different trees on the trail. Compare the leaves and then draw a picture of each leaf in

 the space below.

3. Look for evidence of animal activity. Do you see tracks on the ground? __________

 Do you see any movement in the trees or in the sky? __________

4. Stop for a moment and listen carefully for sounds. Do you hear the rustling of leaves? What about birds 

 chirping? Talk with your hiking partner about the sounds you hear and what might be making them.

5. Take a deep breath through your nose. Do you smell anything special? Tell someone how the smells along the

 trails are different from the smells at home.

I hiked _________________________________________ trail.

7
Amazing Flatboat Journey

In 1828 James Gentry, a local storekeeper, hired nineteen year 

old Abraham Lincoln to accompany his son Allen Gentry on 

a flatboat trip. They built the boat, filled it with supplies to 

sell and, with Abraham as oarsman, traveled 1,222 

miles from Rockport, IN to New Orleans, LA. They 

returned to Indiana by steamboat. Abraham Lincoln 

earned $24 for this 3 month journey. The flatboat 

journey was difficult but exciting. There were many obstacles 

getting started and along the way down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. 

Help Abraham and Allen find their way to New Orleans.

8

Heard John 

Breckenridge 

plead a case 

in court

Begin at 

Rockport, 

IN

Barely 

escape

Waited for 

Allen’s son to 

be born

Robbers try to take flatboat

Borrowed a 

book

Found a 

quiet place 

to read

New Madrid, Missouri

Memphis, Tennessee

Greenville, Arkansas

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

Rockport, Indiana Ohio River

Mississippi River

Finish in New 

Orleans, LA
When the Lincoln family ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___in this 

 19 5 20 20 12 5 4

area, it wasn’t called ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___City. 

 12 9 14 3 15 12 14

Instead, the settlement was named the Little 

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Creek Community, which got its 

16 9 7 5 15 14

name for the many ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 

 16 1 19 19 5 14 7 5 18

pigeons that lived in the Southern___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ 

 9 14 4 9 1 14 1

woods. Those pigeons are now ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___, 

 5 24 20 9 14 3 20

which means they no longer exist. 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

 

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Abraham Lincoln lived in Southern Indiana for fourteen years. He grew up right here where you 

are visiting today. 

Decode information about the community where the Lincoln family lived.

There I Grew Up . . .

Today, there are laws against killing birds or animals in 

most National Parks. These laws protect endangered 

species, which might be living within park boundaries, 

and hopefully, help to keep other species from becoming 

extinct like the passenger pigeons.

Use the code below to fill in the blanks.

9 Cabin Site Memorial
In December 1816, seven-year-old Abraham Lincoln crossed the Ohio River with his family and 

began a life in the wilderness in the newly created state of Indiana. It was here, on his father’s farm, 

that Abraham’s journey to adulthood began.

Pioneer Puzzle

1 2 3

4

6

5

9 10

8

7

Watch the park film to help discover the answers to this puzzle. 

Use the clues below.

Across

1 Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of ______(2 words)

4 Sarah Lincoln is buried next to the ______

6 Type of home the Lincoln’s lived in (2 words)

8 Abraham sold ____ to steamboats on the river

9 Abraham build a ______ and turned it into a business

Down

2 Thomas Lincoln was a _______

3 Abraham’s stepmother’s name was Sarah but they called her _____

5 Abraham and Allen Gentry took a _____ to New Orleans

7 Abraham lived in Indiana _____ years

10 An animal that preyed on swine

carpenter

fourteen

milk sickness

rowboat

flatboat

Sally

bear

church

firewood

log cabin

10
Arrowhead Challenge

The arrowhead is the official symbol of the National Park Service. You will find it on buildings, 

signs, vehicles, and rangers’ uniforms. Each part of the arrowhead represents the important 

resources that our national parks preserve and protect.

Identify the five resource types represented on the National Park Service symbol. Label them below.

1. plants and forests 

2. wild animals 

3. scenery (beautiful views)

4. water resources

5. human history

How many arrowheads did 

you find in your Junior Ranger 

Activity Book?

________________

_________________________

________________________

___________________________

______________________

_________________________________

11
Learning by Littles

Abraham’s total formal education, he would say, “did not amount to one year.” He went to school 

only a few weeks at a time. Lincoln later said of himself, “When I came of age, I did not know 

much. Still somehow I could read, write and cipher (find the answer to math problems) to the Rule 

of Three but that was all.” 

Practice some old-fashioned penmanship below. Trace a verse that Abraham Lincoln wrote when he 

was a kid. 

Find the answer to pioneer math problems.

An average man could split 200 rails in one day. How many rails could he split in one week?

It takes 20 minutes to properly card one piece of wool for spinning. How long would it take to card four 

pieces of wool?

If you own 36 hens and 24 roosters but one half of your roosters are sold to a neighboring farmer, how many 

total chickens would you have left?

Abraham Lincoln 

his hand and pen

he will be good but

God knows when

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

12 This is a copy of a page from Abraham Lincoln’s sum book. Lincoln probably 

practiced these problems when he was 15 years old.
This Certificate is awarded to

________________________

for successfully completing the requirements to become a 

Junior Ranger at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial.

_____________________ __________________Park Ranger DateLincoln Boyhood National Memorial