If you plan on heading down to Williamsburg this season, be sure to check out the American Revolution Museum which got a 50 million dollar makeover. We were lucky enough to attend the grand opening celebration March 23rd. As a strong advocate of learning through play, I couldn’t have picked a better location to take my two year old and four year old to learn about our country’s Revolutionary heritage. Did you know that the new museum has costumed interpreters, artillery demonstrations and even a 4-D theater that plays “The Siege of Yorktown!”? You will actually feel the wind, smell the smoke, and the boom of the cannons fire.
MUSEUM FEATURES
The American Revolution Museum is a gorgeous indoor exhibition hall that features period artifacts, dioramas, interactive exhibits and short films.
The museum now has 170-seat Theater called the “Liberty Fever” captivating audiences with an introductory film narrated by an early-19th-century storyteller who has traveled the country gathering stories about the American Revolution.
I admire how they integrated technology to provide interactive experiences. My four year old enjoyed the screen top battle board where you could play different sides of the battle and watch your strategies in play. Another favorite was shadow screen where it appeared that you were walking along side soldiers. We were also a big fan of the interactive maps; they promoted a lot of questions about geography and how far apart familiar places are in comparison to the battle and colonies.
If it’s not glassed off then you can touch it! Kids need to play and interact with what they are learning. There were tons of puzzles and artifacts that were hands on. I think my son enjoyed the tutorial on how a gun is fired.
LIVING HISTORY FEATURES
The outdoor living-history exhibit includes a Revolution-era war encampment and farm, as well as an artillery shooting amphitheater.
My kids loved running around outdoors exploring the tents. They were fascinated by live demonstration of firing the canons. My youngest loves animals so the farm animals were well received. There were also colonial period children’s toys in the cabin that you can test out.
TIPS
- If the weather is nice, pack a lunch and eat a picnic; it is a beautiful area with plenty of tables to eat at. There is also a café on site if you don’t want to pack a meal.
- The indoor and outdoor exhibits are stroller friendly.
- There is a family bathroom located inside by the bathrooms located next to the exit for the Living Exhibit.
DON’T FORGET TO VISIT JAMESTOWN
I highly recommend buying a pass that provides access to both these historic sites! Jamestown Article click here.
INFORMATION
200 Water St.
Yorktown, Virginia
757-253-4838
Admission is $12; $7 ages 6-12.
April 4, 2017 at 9:05 am
I would love to visit this museum with my kids. My 3rd grader is learning about the Revolutionary War in school right now.
April 4, 2017 at 10:20 am
Robin I hope you get a chance to go. It’s such a awesome museum. I will post more articles throughout the week and link them to this one if you need information on James town or hotels or restaurants for when you visit
April 4, 2017 at 3:47 pm
How cool! I love history and so do my kids. One day we hope to go here.
April 4, 2017 at 3:58 pm
This sounds like a really cool place to visit! My nephew loves history, so this would be right up his alley!
April 4, 2017 at 5:31 pm
I’ve been to Williamsburg as a kid but didn’t appreciate it like I should have. Would love to go back now and check this out!
April 4, 2017 at 8:12 pm
I have to say I love history but I don’t know a lot about the American Revolution. I like the sound of the living history feature!
April 4, 2017 at 9:00 pm
I haven’t been to the this museum in forever. I loved Yorktown when I did visit and now my daughter is old enough to want to go and appreciate what was going on there. I hope I get to take her there soon.
April 4, 2017 at 9:18 pm
This looks like a really fun place to visit – I think my kids would love that they have so much focus on hands-on learning! Well, that and the animals.
April 5, 2017 at 4:39 am
I went couple times when I livd in Hampton. Its a neat experience.
April 5, 2017 at 9:31 am
I love history and I’d like to think that I shared that love with my two kids. It’s nice to go to places like this so that they can learn more about our history! Love the makeover!
April 5, 2017 at 9:42 am
It sure would be nice to take the family here! It’s a very good learning experience for the kids!
April 5, 2017 at 5:57 pm
Such a beautiful and interesting museum to visit with kids! They can learn so many things and have a different day with their parents.
April 5, 2017 at 6:20 pm
The American Revolution Museum is gorgeous outside and inside. and i love to get to know new things.
April 6, 2017 at 2:45 am
I always love to visit museums; so do my kids.It is good to take kids to the museums as they can start learning history at a early age. It seems this museum is a great place to explore!
April 6, 2017 at 3:31 am
Glad your kid loves visiting museum. It is always very interesting to visit the past and reflect for the future.
April 6, 2017 at 5:18 am
What a nice place to bring my kids and I bet they have fun, I would love to go there with them.
April 7, 2017 at 10:49 pm
Ooooo what an awesome museum! I would love to take the family there one day
April 8, 2017 at 4:44 pm
This sounds like an interesting museum to visit. We love going to museums. Always open to learn history and story behind every exhibition.
May 4, 2017 at 3:01 pm
Hi just wanted to give you a brief heads up and let you know a few of the images aren’t loading correctly. I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue. I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and both show the same results.
May 12, 2017 at 3:51 pm
Yes some of my photos were deleted and I have to manually put them back in! Thank you for letting me know this article was effected and not resolved yet.
May 6, 2017 at 4:56 am
I spend half an hour to read your blog’s content daily along with a cup of coffee.So helpful, I’ve learned so much about fun things to do with my kids.