White Sands National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

White Sands National Park

NPS

I 3

WHSA!

Junior Dunes Ranger Activity Book
Hi!

Kit Fox: Ages 6-8 

Jackrabbit: Ages 9-12

Bobcat: Ages 13 and up

Welcome to White Sands, friends! My 

name is Riley, and I am excited to share my 

favorite place with you today. We are going 

to have a great adventure exploring and 

learning about White Sands, the world’s 

largest gypsum dunefield. My book has 

activities that are especially made for you 

depending on your age. 

Become a Junior Dunes Ranger!

Parents: This is a family program. Feel free to help your aspiring Junior 

Ranger. We hope that your whole family learns about the park. 

Are you on a tight timeline and can’t return your book today? Not a problem. Mail 

in your book to the address below and a ranger will take a look at it. 

Address: White Sands NP, PO Box 1086, Holloman AFB, NM 88330.

When you are finished with your activities, please return your book to a 

park ranger in the visitor center to be sworn in as an official White Sands 

Junior Dunes Ranger! If you have any questions, please ask a park ranger. 

Let’s explore White Sands!
Recording Your Memories

As you explore White Sands, write or draw something in the journal 

below that you will want to remember about your visit today.

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Leave No Trace Having Fun and Being Safe

Safety Tip!

Lightning can 

strike up to ten 

miles away from 

a storm. When 

thunder roars, 

go indoors!

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Riley loves being outside and having fun! She knows the best way to enjoy 

White Sands is to follow a few safety tips. Find and circle all the safe ways 

Riley and her friends are enjoying the dunes in the image below. 

Riley’s safety tips:

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Drink lots of water

Throw away trash in a trash can

Wear a hat, sunscreen, & sunglasses

Be prepared for your hike

Keep pets on a leash

Hike with a friend
Solving Riley’s Riddles

My blood is cold, my rattle bold

If I’m in sight, stay clear! I bite!

But worry not; the taste I’ve got

Is for eggs, small birds, and mice.

Who am I? 

Eight legs have I, eight eyes to spy,

A trail my spinner leaves.

My fangs are meek, and only seek

To munch bugs smaller than me.

Who am I? 

My ears are pointy, tipped with black;

For my short tail I’m named.

I leave no claw marks in my track;

As a stealthy hunter I’m famed.

Who am I? 

By day I sleep, by night I creep

To gather my favorite seeds.

I blend in at night to avoid any fights –

White fur makes me hard to see!

Who am I? 

White I am not, so I’m easy to spot

As I crawl along the sand.

Stink I have plenty, so don’t try to pet me!

Respect I must command.

Who am I? 

My beak is long, it’s very strong,

Just ask the food I eat.

I can fly up in the sky,

And run fast on my feet

Who am I? 

Riley wrote a few riddles about her friends. Use the pictures below to help 

solve Riley’s riddles. Fill in the blank with the number of the animal below 

that matches the riddle.

1. Western Diamondback Rattlesnake 2. Bobcat 3. Greater Roadrunner

4. Darkling Beetle 5. Apache Pocket Mouse 6. Tarantula

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Discovering Who Lives Here

Riley made a list of plants and animals that live in her White Sands 

neighborhood. Use the words in the word bank to fill in the boxes below.

W

H

I

T

E

S

A

N

D

S

Word Bank:

BADGER KIT FOX CACTI OWL BEETLE

MOUSE HAWK RAVEN LIZARD SNAKE

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Looking for Shapes

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Riley is very good at finding shapes in nature like finding shapes in clouds. 

Have you ever seen shapes in the clouds? What shape do you see in the 

cottonwood leaf or in the cane cholla ? 

Find your own shapes in nature. Draw at least two shapes below that 

you find on your adventure today. 
Meeting a Ranger

Riley has a lot of park ranger friends, and each one of them has a different 

story on how he/she decided to become a park ranger. 

Riley knows she is in a national park when she sees the National Park Service 

arrowhead. Have you seen an arrowhead? If not, look around the visitor 

center or on the front cover of this book. 

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Ask one of Riley’s ranger friends why he/she became a park ranger. Write 

his/her response below. 

Each of the pictures in the arrowhead, like the mountain, mean something 

important. Draw your favorite part of the arrowhead below. Why did you 

choose to draw that item? Write your response next to the arrowhead. 
1

2

3

4

5

Let’s go!

Restroom

Finding Your Way

Parking Lot

Visitor 

Center

Gift Shop

Theater

Courtyard

Parking Lot

Visitor Center Map

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Native Plant 

Garden

One of Riley’s safety tips is to always know where you are. Help Riley find 

her way around the visitor center and answer the activity on the next page.
Find the numbered items on the map to the left, then answer the 

statements below.

1. Native Plant Garden. Name two plants and how they were/are 

used by American Indians.

 

2. Park Store. List the items that could be used to help you learn 

about White Sands.

 

3. Theater. You can watch the orientation video about the park. 

Did you learn anything about White Sands in the video that 

surprised you?

 

4. Courtyard. Read some of the signs. List one new fact or 

anything interesting that you found in the courtyard.

 

5. Gift Shop. There are many handcrafted items for sale in this 

store. Name one artist, what he/she made, and where he/she 

 is from. 

 

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Dining in the Desert

Unscramble the letters to fill in the blanks with the correct word. Use the 

word bank on the right if you need help. 

Soil, _________________, (aibctera) and fungi capture nitrogen from the air 

and make it ________________ (busela) for plants. Otherwise, most desert 

plants could not grow.

Plants like the _______________ (uyacc) and ________________ (nidain) rice 

grass provide food and shelter for moths, ants, ______________ (orgaknoa) 

rats, Apache _________________ (oktpce) mice, and other animals. These 

plants are called ________________ (rmpiyar) producers because all life on 

the dunes _________________ (pnededs) on them.

Spiders, _________________ (cropsonsi), and lizards eat insects.

Badgers, _________________ (eyscoto), kit foxes, and snakes eat mice and 

other _______________ (stderon).

A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. Some animals eat 

plants, and some animals eat other animals. Plants are called producers

because they combine sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in a process 

called photosynthesis. Through photosynthesis, plants produce oxygen and 

carbohydrates—a simple sugar (food). Animals cannot make their own food 

so they must eat plants and/or other animals. They are called consumers. 

Consumers come in three tiers, primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary 

consumers eat only plants (herbivore). Secondary consumers can eat both 

plants and other animals (omnivore). Tertiary consumers eat only other 

animals (carnivore). Then there are decomposers (bacteria and fungi) that 

feed on decaying matter. 

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What would happen to the badger population if the 

pocket mouse and kangaroo rat caught a disease and 

many of them died?

Word Bank:

usable

yucca

bacteria

rodents

scorpions

coyotes

pocket

depends

primary

indian

kangaroo

Fungi Cyanobacteria

Indian Rice Grass Soaptree Yucca

Kangaroo Rat Apache Pocket Mouse

Western Diamondback 

Rattlesnake

American Badger

Darkling Beetle

Skunk Bush Sumac

Black Tail Jackrabbit

Loggerhead Shrike

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Tertiary Consumers

Secondary Consumers

Primary Consumers

Producers

Decomposers
Draw a selenite crystal Draw coarse sand Draw fine sand

Riley has a question for you. Where did all this gypsum sand come from? 

This activity will help you answer Riley’s question. 

Transforming Rock into Sand and Dunes

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Take a look at the exhibits in the museum and label the three white arrows on 

the map below as either water or wind. 
Looking at a map of Dunes Drive below, label the map using the 

numbers next to the words below. 

N

Word Bank:

1.Playa Trail 2.Interdune Boardwalk 3.Dune Life Nature Trail

4.Alkali Flat Trail 5.Amphitheater 6.Backcountry Trail

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Exploring the Soaptree Yucca

The yucca has beautiful white flowers that bloom after it rains. The 

flowers can be eaten.

The flowers grow on flower stalks that move water through the plant. 

These stalks can be used as walking sticks.

The leaves of the yucca are called bayonet leaves because they are so 

sharp and pointy. The sharp tips can be used as needles.

The yucca produces thousands of seeds that provide food for mice and 

other rodents. Humans can also use the seeds to make a black dye.

The taproot finds water in the gypsum to keep the plant alive. The root 

can be used like a potato but make sure to remove the toxic skin. 

Another cool part of the soaptree is 

how the plant is pollinated. Yuccas 

of all types are pollinated by yucca 

moths. These moths blend in to the 

coloring of the flower so they can be 

difficult to see. 

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One of the most common plants at White Sands is the soaptree yucca. This 

yucca is one of only four plants that can grow on the moving dunes. The 

plant is able to do this because of its ability to grow through the dunes as 

they move. The other amazing thing about the soaptree yucca is that every 

part of the plant can be used in some way.

Riley wrote several interesting facts about the soaptree yucca below. Use 

the words in bold to fill in the boxes to the right.

Did you Know?
Moths and butterflies are 

in the same order of insect 

(Lepidoptera). Butterflies are 

a specialized group of moths 

that fly during the day. 

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Did you Know?
Meeting the Dunefield

Dear Junior Dunes Ranger,

Let me introduce myself! The white gypsum sand you feel in between 

your toes as you walk barefoot on a dune is a part of me. I wanted to 

take the time to tell you my story and how I ended up here.

My journey started when I was gypsum mineral dissolved in the 

Permian Sea about 250 million years ago. Life was much different then. 

Millions of years later, the Earth’s tectonic plates started to shift and 

collide. The sea level rose and fell, and I was pushed up in the 

 mountains you see around you today. About 10,000 years ago, I 

was dissolved by rain and snowmelt, and I washed down into a lake and 

evaporated into my new form, selenite crystals!

Life as a crystal was nice. Wind and water broke pieces of the crystals 

down into smaller particles and they hitchhiked with the wind 

across the basin to form me, the dunefield, that you are visiting!

Most people who visit for the first time are surprised by the great variety 

of plants and animals that survive and thrive in the unique environment 

created by my dunes. Scientists from around the world come here 

to study me, the dunefield, and my friends, the plants and animals. The 

animals living here now are only the latest in a long parade of creatures 

who have adapted to massive changes in geology and climate. Fossilized 

footprints of dire wolves, ancient camels, mammoths, smilodons, 

and giant ground sloths are all hidden within my sand!

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If you divide the earth’s geological history into twelve hours on a clock, 

I would have surfed in the Permian Sea about three hours ago, watched 

the dinosaurs about one hour ago, and met you, the humans during the 

last minute. I want to welcome you, the newcomers of life on earth, to this 

amazing planet!

I’ve watched humans for a while now, and I have learned that 

peoples’ capacity to care about and preserve the environment has 

sometimes been overshadowed by their ability for destruction and 

carelessness. Humans have great power on this planet. In order to 

take care of my friends, the plants and animals, for many generations to 

come, humans must use their power and intelligence wisely. Will you be 

a good caretaker of the earth and my sand, plants, and animals? At the 

bottom of this letter let me know how you can be a good caretaker 

of the earth.

Sincerely,

The Dunefield

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Holding the Dunes Together

One of Riley’s safety tips is to drink plenty of water. Water is just as 

important for the dunes as it is for us. Without water, the dunes would 

blow away. Water is the glue that holds the dunes in place. Throughout a 

calendar year the water goes through all steps of the water cycle.

Look at the diagram below. It shows the four major steps of the water 

cycle. Label each process in the water cycle using the numbers next to the 

words and then circle one or more of the processes that you observe in 

the dunefield. 

Word Bank: 1.collection 2.precipitation 

 3.evaporation 4.condensation

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Precipitation - Rain or snow coming down from clouds.

Evaporation - When puddles on the ground disappear as the sun heats up the water.

Collection - Water that pools in low lying areas.

Condensation - As water evaporates, the moisture condenses and forms clouds in the sky. 
Did you Know?

This illustration 

shows us that 

two feet below the 

surface, in a low 

area, you will find 

our water table, 

which is very 

unusual for a desert. 

When you are in the dunes, do the following actions and 

answer the questions below.

Touch the sand on the surface. What did it feel like? Was it hot or 

cold? 

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Dig down a few inches in the sand. What is the difference between 

the top of the sand and down a few inches? What do you think 

makes this difference? 
Nature and Geology Checklist

Mammals Reptiles Geology

This is a checklist of some of Riley’s favorite things. As you visit the park, 

check off any of them that you find. Some of the critters only come out at 

night so don’t be discouraged if you can’t find them all. 

Coyote American Badger

Apache Pocket Mouse

Kangaroo Rat

Blacktail Jackrabbit

Kit Fox

Gopher 

Snake

Bleached Earless 

Lizard

Little striped Whiptail

Western

Diamondback 

Rattlesnake

Gypsum Rock

Selenite 

Crystal Sand Plant Pedestal

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Birds Insects Plants

Did you see something that’s not on the list? Draw or 

describe it in the space below. Ask a ranger if he can help 

identify it.

Barn Swallow

Greater

Roadrunner

Loggerhead 

Shrike

Raven

Tarantula Hawk Wasp

Tarantula

Darkling Beetle Scorpion

Soaptree 

Yucca

Indian Rice Grass

Cottonwood 

Tree Leaf

Skunk Bush Sumac

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I am proud to be a Junior Ranger at 

White Sands National Park. I will continue to learn 

about nature, and all people, so we can work 

together to protect our national parks and the 

places we live.

Certificate of Achievement

This certifies that

has met the requirements of a 

White Sands Junior Dunes Ranger.

Ranger Signature

Junior Ranger Pledge