We had a long two day drive back home from Tennessee. Our first day we picked Maryland as our stopping point and enjoyed watching the scenery pass us by, looking for more license plates to add to our 50 states map, listening to our Percy Jackson book on CD, watching movies, playing video games and listening to music. We ate dinner near our hotel, after the boys had swam in the pool for a bit to get out some of that pent up energy. We had a lovely diner at the Olive Garden and I couldn't help but think about all the extra schooling we squeezed in while on vacation.
It may seem silly but even little things like playing mad libs every night using the restaurants kids menus helps me remember that we're always learning-- even when we're just having fun on vacation.
On the final leg of our journey we passed a park in Pennsylvania that had tanks and helicopters by the side of the road. It had caught our attention on the way down to Tennessee too but this time we decided to stop and see what it was all about. The boys actually wanted to just keep driving so they could get home and play with their toys but after a bit of grumbling they soon were having fun too.
The United States Army Heritage and Education Center was amazing!
There was a trail set out in the field and we could go inside bunkers, see tanks and helicopters, compare the different structures used in wars from the civil war, to the world wars, to the Vietnam war. There was a free activity booklet that Ian picked up with mazes, word searches, and additional information about all the buildings and equipment set up around the campus. The boys tried their hand at some agility training; trying their hand at running the balance beams, crawling under the wires, and going up and over the wall. They readily admitted that it was hard and we told them they'd actually be going the course with all their gear on too.
We stopped to read most of the signs and usually summarized it for Evan (and even Alec who isn't as interested in war things as Ian).
Two hours later we were finally ready to head inside the building. The museum is pretty small but packed with information; more information then we could possibly read in one day. When touring the museum they give you little plastic dog tags of 6 soldiers and the interactive exhibits tells you about life for your soldier during their war time. We all got different soldiers so the boys often compared what artillery their guy had, or how their guy traveled, if their guy survived the war, etc. Unfortunately, the shooting range was not working (much to all the boys' disappointment) but the older two boys did try their hand at landing a virtual parachute in a field. Ian landed in the mine field but Alec made it onto the lawn. They got to see what wearing 100 lbs. of gear would be like; and since they all needed help to lift if they realized carrying it around all day was HUGE.
Alec wanted to take home one of the free dog tags as his souvenir and we were told that was fine. Evan chose to buy a toy gun and asked to go back out into the field and in a few of the forts to try it out. Ian had some personalized dog tags made up and all the boys left very happy. It's so fun when vacation and learning combine!
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| Inside the motor pool |
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| Barracks from WWI and WWII era |
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| checking out the spin on the barrel |
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| Civil war cannon |
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| Alec running the course |
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| He couldn't believe how hard it was to crawl low (especially since he's so skinny!) |
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| Ian trying to climb up and over |
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| Alec climbing the wall |
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| a 18th and 19th century block house |
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| comparing the newer tanks to older tanks |
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| Learning about the cobra |
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| Tiger tank used during the Korean war to try and scare the enemy |
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| checking out the revolutionary war redoubt (or fortification) |
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| We're in Vietnam! |
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| underground in a German trench |
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| American trenches; a maze of tunnels! |
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| Inside the museum, finding out who we are |
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| Evan stops to watch a movie |
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| Ian trying to land his parachute on the field |
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| Alec's turn to land |
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| Alec hoisting up 100 lbs. of gear |
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| Ian poses as an army man |
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| Afghanistan |
This looks so cool, my boy and husband would both love it!! #familyfunlinky
ReplyDeleteMy boys LOVED it!
DeleteAgree every days a learning op somewhere!! What a jam packed museum with loads of interesting interactions. Glad the boys had a blast even though they were reluctant at first!! Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky
ReplyDeleteI was glad they enjoyed it too! It really was a wonderful museum and I was so glad we decided to be spontaneous like that.
DeleteThere is so much to do at this site. It looks like a great place. I wished I lived closer. I bet your boys were over the moon! #explorerkids
ReplyDeleteAs much as they did not want to stop once we got there they were quite into it.
DeleteAmazing place - my kids would love to go on all the adventures you guys do. Thanks for sharing on #ExplorerKids
ReplyDeleteWe could not believe how much they had there. It really was amazing.
DeleteThis museum looks brilliant, so interactive with those trenches. #ExplorerKids
ReplyDeleteWe could not get over the trenches and the barracks. There really was a lot of thought and planning put into this one!
DeleteThat sounds so interesting. We like to see historic things on vacation too. #ExplorerKids
ReplyDeleteIt really was quite amazing. I could not get over all the materials and hands on component they had available to us. It was a lot of fun.
DeleteIt is certainly packed with action. I love the idea of the dog tags of soldiers and the interactive exhibits. Very clever! Keeping the visitors interested - no wonder the boys wanted one of their own for souvenir home. Alec is very brave in the wire crawl! Bravo!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for linking up with us on #ExplorerKids
Alec loves all that parkour stuff! We were very impressed with how interactive everything was; I loved that the man even made sure we all had different dog tags so we wouldn't have any repeats.
DeleteMy boys would love this!
ReplyDeletewww.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com
It was amazing! I could not believe all there was to see and do.
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