About Us

Jr. RangerLand began in the spring of 2009 when Jennifer Haywood and her family traveled to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. While there, her kids participated in the Junior Ranger program. It was a terrific experience and they all learned many things about the park in the process. Before leaving, they investigated a visitor center gift shop to purchase a memento of the trip and saw an opportunity for a series of games to continue the Junior Ranger experience at home. On the drive back to Michigan, their family worked together to create the first Jr. RangerLand board game. This first version was drawn in the backseat by their 8-year-old daughter. Over the following months, Jr. RangerLand was born.

Jr. RangerLand is designed and manufactured by Haywood Studios Inc., located in Hastings, Michigan. Haywood Studios Inc. is an educational publishing company founded by Jennifer Haywood in 1998. She is excited to now have a full line of products encouraging children in their discovery of our natural world.

Here is Jennifer at the Great Smoky Mountains with her kiddos in 2009!

And the full crew in Colorado in 2020!