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The way I envisioned our field trip to Mount Vernon (the home of George Washington), may have been a little different than how the events of the day completely unfolded – but it was still a fabulous trip.
A beautiful day and four (mostly) behaving kids. Lots of friends along to wander the grounds, explore the various buildings, and learn more about a man who was instrumental in the shaping of our country.
And in case any of you were wondering, the alarms on the exhibits in the education center are working very well. And are very loud.
Well, at least the three that we managed to set off at various places in the center were working.
#askmehowweknow
That moment when you hear an alarm go off and are looking around trying to figure out who set it off – and then realize that everyone is staring in your direction. Yeah – that. Times THREE.
Just keeping it real, folks.
You apparently can’t even slightly TOUCH the railings in a wrong way – not the exhibit or anything in it – the RAILINGS. You would have thought we’d learn after the first one, but it took two more times until we high-tailed it out of the center and went for some wide open spaces.
Making History Fun
Truly though, there is a lot to do and learn at Mount Vernon. The staff – fabulous help who try to make it fun and educational for the kids – provide scavenger hunt maps for the kids to search for clues all over the estate. There’s even a fun prize when the maps are completed (secret decoder pens for the older kids and a stamped penny for the younger ones).
George Washington’s final resting place
We toured the extensive gardens, visited Washington’s final resting place, walked through the house where George and Martha lived, visited the slave quarters, and took in the views of the Potomac from the back porch of the home. There’s just something absolutely amazing about walking through a huge piece of our American history – and imagining what it was like when Washington was actually there.
And (aside from screeching alarms) the education center was equally as fabulous – giving a glimpse into the details of Washington’s early life up through his sudden death. This week we’ll be working on some follow up history lessons thanks to the Mount Vernon website – they have some handy pre-visit and other go-along items for teachers to use. You can even take a virtual tour from your home, in case it’s too far to visit in person!
Quite honestly, it’s a place I’d love to visit again someday (shhh…with no kids) and soak in all the history and tidbits there are to offer.
Minus the alarms.
Note: In our defense (in case anyone from the Mount Vernon staff is reading this), nothing was touched, damaged, or otherwise compromised. (grins)
And p.s. – this post was in no way sponsored by Mount Vernon.
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We went last year and absolutely LOVED it! It was one of our favorite field trips ever. The education center was the single most educational center I’ve ever been in. We all learned so much, and the little kids room they have there is so interactive and fun that I had a hard time getting my youngest to leave it! The staff was wonderful and spent so much time in the kids room teaching them about all kinds of things and playing with them. It’s a trip we’ll never forget! It was an amazing trip, and I highly recommend it! We didn’t set off any alarms, but one blinked a warning light a few times. It was so surreal being so close to the doorway of the Washington’s bedroom and seeing the bed where he actually slept and passed away. It was like a bite out of time. We hope to make it out to Monticello the next time we take a history vacation.
We’ve never been to Mt. Vernon, but hope to make it this summer or in the fall. I can picture the look on your face each.and.every.time the alarm went off. Giggle.
Joesette – I think you and the gis would love it!!! There is so much to see and learn!!
LOL This cracked me up! Glad you guys had fun!!! We will have to go again sometime.. I went so many times as a kid I couldn’t bring myself to take Sammy this time ;-)
Lol we’ve made through mount Vernon without issue but I can’t say that about The Met in NYC. They’re loud there too. I guess those cute art board books that encourage touching weren’t a great idea after all. ;)
Hilarious! Would love to visit there one day!
LOL! What an awesome field trip! Some day I would love to do a big family vacation of all those historical sites. And we will remember to stay off of the railings (ok, maybe we won’t remember). Heh!
As someone who lives just up the road from Mt Vernon, it is one of our favorite places. We have annual passes, we don’t go in the house (ever) and love playing in the little kid room. Definitely plan a weekday trip if you can, weekends when it is nice out are ridiculous.
We are planning a trip there next month. Thanks for the heads up on the alarms :) Glad to hear it was a worthwhile trip!
I honestly hope I can go back at some point (alone – history now is SO much more fascinating then it was all those years ago when I was younger!!).