History is Fun at Jamestown and Yorktown

Thanks to Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center for making this post possible.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Here in Virginia, we are so close to a great number of historic sites.  If you are ever planning a trip here, you want to be sure to visit the historic triangle in the Virginia Peninsula which includes Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Yorktown.  With one ticket, you can visit all three of these sites while saving a few bucks in the process.  We started our trip at Jamestown Settlement.  Jamestown was the first successful English Settlement on the mainland of North America.

When you go to sites like these, everyone feels like a kid.  Check out Beth as she tries on a soldier’s helmet.  That armor is heavy and hot once that blazing sun hits it.  It’s crazy to think about the first settlers having to wear this armor just to walk outside of the palisade.

At Jamestown Settlement, not only can you see the settlement built in a very similar fashion to the original, but you can speak to people who are experts on the topic.  You can also check out replicas of the ships that carried troops, settlers, and supplies on the months-long journey across the ocean.  It is really amazing that those people took those chances.  Thankfully, for us, they did!

I love when the kids can get involved in history.  When you bring history to life, it becomes interactive and fun.  The kids got to play games, explore ships, and participate in the kind of work that kids would have done in that era.  The hands-on opportunities really engaged the kids and made them want to know even more about what they were doing.  That lifetime love of learning is really getting a firm hold.

After our trip to Jamestown, we headed over to Yorktown.  Yorktown is where the British surrendered to the Americans to end the American Revolution.  The site is pretty small, but after spending the morning at Jamestown and lunch with the family, we didn’t really want an activity with a huge time investment.  You can get a nice idea of a revolutionary camp, see a firing demonstration, and check out a revolutionary period farm.  If you are interested in more history, the museum is pretty incredible!

So what are you doing for vacation this year?  Any hands on history for you and your kids?  Leave us a comment and let us know.