Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Photograph by Hugh Gentry, Reuters

For kids, watching Kilauea’s fire-red lava drizzling down the side of the volcano and sizzling into the ocean conjures up images of a mammoth wizard’s boiling cauldron, a sci-fi planet shaped out of mysterious goo, or, true to Hawaiian tradition, the goddess of fire—Madame Pele—making her presence known by breathing fire.

The mystical and magical forces at work on the Big Island’s lush 330,000-acre Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park extend far beyond two of the world’s most active volcanoes—Kilauea and Mauna Loa—but it is the volcanic wonders that mesmerize kids, says Julie Mitchell, general manager of the community-based Friends of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

“From steam vents, steaming bluff, and sulfur banks to the fuming vent at Halema‘uma‘u Crater, nothing is more exciting than seeing the Earth as alive and dynamic,” Mitchell explains. “The volcanic forces that shaped the Hawaiian Islands are visible here in a way that can help kids envision how much of the world was formed.”

Seeing the living, breathing volcanoes inspires amazement, creativity, and tons of rapid-fire questions from curious young adventurers. To help kids understand what they are seeing, Mitchell suggests heading first to the Kilauea Visitor Center to watch a movie about the volcano, explore the interactive displays, listen to the sounds of the rain forest, and see dioramas of creatures who live in the park.

While there, pick up a copy of the Junior Ranger Handbook: A Guide to Discovery and Exploration of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. By working through the booklet to earn the Junior Ranger badge, kids learn how scientists measure changes in the volcanoes, can see and touch different types of lava rock at the park’s Jaggar Museum, watch seismographs track earthquake activity, and learn the sacred stories of Kilauea’s and Hawai‘i’s gods and goddesses.

Park education specialist Joni Mae Makuakane-Jarrell says the goal of the Junior Ranger program—and of all the ranger-led activities—is for kids to “have fun as they explore, discover, and fall in love with the park. In this ever changing landscape, you never know where or when an eruption will be seen on the Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes. Here, the very ground you walk on is a wahi kapu (a sacred place) and the home of the fire goddess, Pelehonuamea.”

Read more in 100 Places That Can Change Your Child's Life, by Keith Bellows

Best National Park Adventures for Kids - National Geographic