A program to modernize parks by 1966

National Park Service Quiz: The 1916 Founding and Rangers

President Woodrow Wilson signed a short law in August 1916 that created one of America's most loved agencies, and this National Park Service quiz explains its beginnings. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on the Organic Act, Stephen Mather, Horace Albright, Yellowstone and the Army, the arrowhead emblem, the flat hat, Mission 66, Junior Rangers and the 2016 centennial.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Year
In which year was the National Park Service created?
President
Which president signed the act?
Director
Who was the first NPS director?
Assistant
Who was Mather's assistant and later director?
First
Which was the first national park, created in 1872?
Army
Who managed Yellowstone before the NPS existed?
Department
Which department oversees the NPS?
Emblem
What shape is the NPS emblem?
Hat
What is the ranger's classic hat called?
Mission
What was Mission 66?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: In which year was the National Park Service created?
Answer: 1916
The law is called the Organic Act.
Q2: Which president signed the act?
Answer: Woodrow Wilson
He signed it on August 25.
Q3: Who was the first NPS director?
Answer: Stephen Mather
He was a wealthy businessman.
Q4: Who was Mather's assistant and later director?
Answer: Horace Albright
He helped draft policies.
Q5: Which was the first national park, created in 1872?
Answer: Yellowstone
It predates the NPS.
Q6: Who managed Yellowstone before the NPS existed?
Answer: The US Army
Soldiers patrolled it for years.
Q7: Which department oversees the NPS?
Answer: The Department of the Interior
The Forest Service is separate.
Q8: What shape is the NPS emblem?
Answer: An arrowhead
It shows a sequoia, bison and mountains.
Q9: What is the ranger's classic hat called?
Answer: The flat hat
It is a campaign-style hat.
Q10: What was Mission 66?
Answer: A program to modernize parks by 1966
It built visitor centers.

National Park Service Quiz – The 1916 Founding and Rangers

The National Park Service was created on August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act. Before then, parks such as Yellowstone, established in 1872, were managed separately, and the US Army patrolled Yellowstone.

Stephen Mather became the first director, with Horace Albright as his assistant and later successor. The NPS sits within the Department of the Interior and uses an arrowhead emblem showing a sequoia, a bison and mountains.

Rangers wear the iconic flat hat. Mission 66 modernized parks with visitor centers by the 50th anniversary, and the Junior Ranger program engages children. The NPS celebrated its centennial in 2016.

What This Quiz Teaches

History and outdoor fans will enjoy these questions.

When the NPS was created
Who led it first
How parks were run before
What symbols it uses
How it has grown

Did You Know?

The NPS manages more than 400 sites.
Only 63 of them are named national parks.
Writer Wallace Stegner called parks America's best idea.
Entrance-free days are held each year.
Many rangers are seasonal workers.