Thursday, Apr 27, 2006
The Eisenhower National Historic Site will launch an expanded Junior Secret Service Agent program on Sunday, April 30, 2006. The National Park Service invites visitors aged 7-12 to participate in activities like practicing radio procedure, looking for suspicious objects using binoculars, and becoming familiar with surveillance equipment in the site's newly opened Secret Service office as they train to become Junior Agents. Trainees may have to approach a "suspicious" staff member and interrogate them about their activities. "And they will have to do it all gracefully, as they learn about President Dwight D. Eisenhower and how the Secret Service protected him," said Carol Hegeman, supervisory historian at the site.
The Junior Secret Service Agent program is an activity for children visiting with their families. While touring the historic site children can complete the Jr. Secret Service Agent Training Manual and earn a badge and certificate.
To celebrate the launch on Sunday, April 30, young visitors can interact with a living historian portraying a Secret Service agent that protected President Eisenhower. The agent will assist children in their training and present talks about protecting the president at 10:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m., and 2:15 p.m.
Originally developed in 1998, the Junior Secret Service Agent program has reached thousands of children, both on-site and via the site's webpage. The Eisenhower staff recently received a grant to revise and update the program from the National Park Foundation through the generous support of Unilever, a Proud Partner of America's National Parks and a National Corporate Partner of the Junior Ranger Program. The Friends of the National Parks at Gettysburg and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Society provided matching funds.
Eisenhower National Historic Site is open daily. All visits are via shuttle bus from the National Park Service Visitor Center on Taneytown Road in Gettysburg. Shuttles depart every half-hour from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekends and every hour on weekdays. Admission is $5.50 for adults, $4.00 for youths ages 13-16, and $3.00 for children ages 6-12. The Junior Secret Service Agent program activities are included in the site admission. Families should allow at least two hours for their children to complete the program.
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