Take the Grand kid

We just returned from spending 4 days this week with our 9 year old Grandson at Williamsburg VA. Doing a little research while we were planning this trip went a long way in making it a memorable week. Colonial Williamsburg runs many programs for both kids and adults. You can find them listed day by day in their calendar of events on their website. Before going we sat with our grandson and he helped pick the activities that he wanted to participate in. 

He decided on an archaeology dig where he found, among other things, a Spanish coin. They told him it was only the 4th coin they found this year. "People don't throw money away." Later that day he toured the lab where they clean and catalog all the finds for all the digs they are doing. They also try to match pieces together to make a cup, bowl, plate etc. It would be like taking 4 or five puzzles, mixing them all together, putting them out upside down and no trying to put them back together. Not a job I wanted to try to do. The next day he assisted in that same lab by sorting out the things the kids are finding at the dig site. They had to identify what type of item it was and how many of each were found. 

On his tour of the Capital he learned how laws are passed by participating in the writing and passing of a law. the group then were placed on a jury and had to decide the fate of someone who was on trial for breaking one of the colonies laws. Another tour found him at the stables where all the horses used by the foundation are housed. he even got to meet and great an 1800 pound carriage horse.

Of course there were all the regular tours of the craftsman's houses most of which he was interested in as well. On our last night there he said he wished he had just one more day because he was having so much fun. Win for the Grandparents!!

So if you have kids you are taking to Williamsburg make sure you do a little homework. T=You will need to order special tickets for many of these however most of those programs are free or of very low cost. It will get and keep your kids engaged in the living history they tell there. And who knows, you might learn a few things as well. I know we did.