National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

San Francisco Maritime

National Historical Park

English

San Francisco Maritime

Ages: 9-12
Approximate time needed for completion: 45-60 minutes. 

Junior Rangers should be accompanied by an adult. 

If you need help with one of the questions, ask a 

ranger or a volunteer.

Here’s what to do:

Choose any five (5) activities to complete.

OR attend a ranger-led program in place of two 

activities. Check the sign board at the fee booth 

for today’s programs.

Have a ranger check your work to make sure 

everything is shipshape and to receive your 

Junior Ranger badge.

Become a Junior Ranger by learning about 

maritime history while you complete the activities 

in this book. As a Junior Ranger, you will join 

national park rangers in preserving our natural 

and cultural heritage.

If you attend a ranger-led program have the 

ranger sign here:

What is one thing you learned at the program?

This Junior Ranger booklet was funded by the National Park Foundation, national charitable partner of America’s National Parks. The National Park Foundation 

supports the NPS Junior Ranger program as part of their nationwide effort to connect children to America’s heritage and ensure the future of our national parks.

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Welcome to the San Francisco Maritime National 

Historical Park Junior Ranger program!
Experience your America

San Francisco Maritime 

National Historical Park is 

one of more than 401

national parks in the 

United States. National 

parks have been set aside 

to preserve scenery, wildlife, and cultural objects for 

you and everyone to enjoy.

 Cape Cod National Seashore; Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River; Gettysburg National Battlefield; Yellowstone National Park; Answers: 

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site; Appalachian National Scenic Trail; Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

When is a national park, not a national park? When it’s a National Seashore, or National 

Battlefield or, in our case, a National Historical Park! There are national parks all over 

the United States in more than 14 different categories. Test your knowledge of them 

by completing the names below. Draw a line from the park on the left to the correct 

category on the right.

Cape Cod National Park

Rio Grande National Scenic Trail

Gettysburg National Seashore

Yellowstone National Lakeshore

Martin Luther King Jr. Wild and Scenic River

Appalachian National Historic Site

Indiana Dunes National Battlefield

There are so many different kinds of parks of different sizes in rural areas, cities and 

suburbs that there’s bound to be one near you. Which park is closest to your home? 

If you need help, ask a ranger!

Write its name here: 

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Match each of the ships with the work they did. Find the answers on the signs posted in front of each ship.

Find it! Tracking Maritime Trade

The ships at Hyde Street 

Pier worked in the Bay, 

up and down the 

California coast, 

and around the world. 

Find out how our 

ships contributed to 

San Francisco’s 

growth by completing 

the matching activity.

Balclutha

Eureka

C. A. Thayer

Nuovo Mondo

Grace Quan

Hercules

1)Balclutha 2)Eureka 3)Hercules 4)Nuovo Mondo 5)C.A. Thayer 6)Grace Quan Answers:

❶ A full-rigged ship that carried lumber to 

Australia.

❷ A double-ended ferry that carried cars 

and people across the Bay.

❸ A sea-going tug that steamed around 

South America.

❹ The felucca was the principal fishing craft 

of Italian immigrants.

❺ A lumber schooner.

❻ The junk was used by Chinese 

shrimp companies.

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Block (pulley) and tackle 

(rope) systems allowed 

sailors to lift heavy objects 

they could not lift alone. 

Using more pulleys and 

more ropes made things 

like anchors and yards 

feel lighter.

Haul Away!

Try it out yourself with the three barrels at the Block & Tackle exhibit. (Located at 

the pier entrance.) Each of the barrels weighs 20 pounds. Circle the barrel that feels 

the heaviest:

Mechanical Advantage Answer:

HNLACCMIAE 

TVNDAGAEA

Now unscramble the letters 

to find out how block & 

tackle can make heavy 

things seem light. 

Hint: You can find the 

answer on the sign board 

at the exhibit! 

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Sailing 

ships built 

in Europe 

and New 

England 

usually 

had figureheads. A 

figurehead 

is a sculpture found on the 

front, or bow, of a sailing 

ship. Many figureheads 

were carvings of women 

and they were good luck 

for the ship. They were the 

eyes of the ship and guided 

the way.

Design your own in the space below. 

Draw it! Design your own Figurehead

Choose a name for your ship. Why did you choose that name? 

Did you name it after somebody important in your life?

I named my ship because 

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1

2

3

4

5

6

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Learn your Lines (and some other stuff, too)

Sailors use their own special language for different parts of the ship. First solve the crossword puzzle, then test 

your knowledge by drawing lines from the words to the correct parts of the ship.

 Down 1) Head 2) Port 3) Hold 4) Stern 5) Bow; Across 4) Starboard 6) Poop Deck 7) Lines Answers:

Across

4. The right side of the ship.

6. Raised deck at the back 

of a ship.

7. Ropes

Down

1. What sailors call the 

bathroom on a ship.

2. The left side of the ship.

3. Where cargo is stored.

4. The back of the ship.

5. The front of the ship.

Lines

Bow

Head

Port

Poop 

Deck

Stern

Starboard Hold

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Lighthouse Haiku

Find the lens from the Farallon Islands lighthouse in the Visitor Center and explore the exhibits about it.

For this activity, write a haiku poem about a lighthouse. Haiku is a traditional form of poetry that does not rhyme. Every 

haiku poem has three lines, each with a specific number of syllables or beats. The first and third lines have five syllables. 

The second line has seven syllables. Here’s how a haiku poem looks:

Rocky coast, darkness

The light flashes . . .one . . two . . .three

Showing the way home.

Choose any topic for your poem. For example, you might imagine you are the lighthouse and describe what you see. You 

might imagine you’re a sailor seeing the lighthouse for the first time. Write your poem here:

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A Letter Home

The sailors on Balclutha lived in the fo’c’s’le in the front or forward part of the ship. Find this area on the ship and explore. 

Then sit for a minute in one of the bunks and imagine what it would be like to live on this ship. What would you write 

home? Use the letter below as a starting point and then write a few lines of your own to finish it up.

Dear Mother, Sunday, February 8, 1887

We just finished sailing through the worst storm I have ever seen. The waves were enormous, and one night it even 

snowed. I know you are going to be upset because I haven’t taken a bath in a month, but it doesn’t matter because I 

have been wet for seven days. I try my best to keep warm by 

The bunk I have is the worst one because 

At night when I go to bed, I dream about home. But, when I wake up I know I am still on board ship when I hear

and smell

It’s not all bad, of course. There are lots of beautiful things to see here in the middle of the ocean, like

I miss you. I miss home.

I will send this letter when I get to San Francico. 

Love, 

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Menu Math

Imagine it’s 1940. You are taking a trip on the Eureka and decide to have lunch. You have $1.00 to spend (things didn’t 

cost so much back then). What would you like to eat? Don’t forget dessert!

Menu Item

 

 

 

Price

 

 

 

$ 

Eureka Diner 

Receipt

The ferryboat Eureka

had a restaurant called a 

diner on board. Go up the 

stairs to the second level 

and find the room where 

the diner used to be. 

Look for the menu. One dollar in 1940 is equal to about $13.00 today. How much would your lunch on 

Eureka cost if you were buying it today? Use the space below to do the math. 

Bonus $ Question

$ . x $13.00 = $ . today

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You have successfully completed the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Junior Ranger Program. 

Great work! Return to the fee booth or the Visitor Center to meet with a ranger and take the Junior Ranger pledge. 

Congratulations!

Try This at Home...

Check out the National Park Service’s Junior Ranger 

Program on the Web. Log onto the Web Ranger 

Program and become a Web Ranger! 

http://www.nps.gov/webrangers/

Which artifacts from the park’s collection would you 

put on display in the visitor center? How about some 

scrimshaw? Go to: http://goo.gl/IGQ2i9 to see some 

amazing examples. Have fun choosing!

Illustrations by Inge Wessels; Design by Olympia Vouitsis Montgomery

Junior Ranger Pledge 

As a Junior Ranger, I promise 

to help preserve and protect 

cultural and natural resources in 

National Parks and everywhere. 

I pledge to share what I have learned 

about maritime history with 

others and to continue exploring 

our National Parks.

Printed on 30% post-consumer waste recycled paper.

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Park website: www.nps.gov/safr

Visitor Center Information Desk: 415-447-5000
 

is an official 

Junior Ranger

at

San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

 

 PARK RANGER DATE

This Certifies That