Things to do with a seven year old at Colonial Williamsburg
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Anonymous
| Have gotten some conflicting opinions on this; some think he'll hate it and others think he'll love it. What are the "kid friendly" activities that you've found you children have enjoyed? |
Anonymous
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I'm following this too since I just came on here to start a Colonial Williamsburg thread. We are going just for Saturday and Sunday (this weekend) with our children (pre schooler and baby) and wanted to hear of anyone elses's must do's for kids. We have already signed up for the kid's tour of the palace and will be doing a carriage ride and a tavern dinner. We will be in the historical area 100% of the time.
My son is really excited about going. We got a few kids books about Williamsburg that we have been reading every night that got him into it. We personally like going there and decided to pull the trigger when he enjoyed some local touristy things we have done lately like visit the Capitol etc. OP I think it rally depends on your kid's personality. I think my son will like it because he likes historical places and he will like being able to run around outside in between exhibits too. |
Anonymous
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Jamestown, ghost tour
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Anonymous
We're going Thursday-Saturday. Doing Colonial Williamsburg Thursday. Was thinking of signing up for the palace tour. |
Anonymous
It's free! Just call and reserve a spot! |
Anonymous
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Hotel pool!
Children's tour of the palace Children's ghost story walk Oxen or horse carriage ride |
Anonymous
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Palace tour is okay, but not that great. It's sort of long and I think my kids were a little bored -- I think I had to take one of them out through a side door in the middle of it.
For kids that age, the best things are (probably in this order): 1. Training as a continentla soldier at the encampment 2. Going to the house (powell house?) which is interactive -- kids clean like they did in the 18th century, play 18th century games, etc. 3. horse carriage ride 4. tie between the jail tour and the thing on the main lawn where the enactors pretend to be having a debate -- it sort of springs up around you so it seems like you're in the middle of it, which is fun Consider renting costumes, which is expensive but puts you in the spirit (and makes for cute picture). Also consider downloading the American Girl movie Felicity, or checking out one of the Felicity girl books before going, as it helps give the child some background knowledge and makes it seem more real. The historical eating places are also kind of fun. |
Anonymous
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The place where you make mud bricks - so fun (and gross);
Spy game - the kids get clues to find the person with the purple ribbon who gives them the next clue.... Our kids mostly were bored at Williamsburg and wanted to head to Busch Gardens.... |
Anonymous
| We go with our preschooler and her favorite thing is to run on the grass by the courthouse. Also, she did really well watching the more interactive exhibits so the barrel maker or wig shop versus the palace. There is a maze behind the palace that is fun though for kids. Also there is a free bus that she loves to just take around the town. Silly, but she loves it. |
Anonymous
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We have friends who live there so visit a few times per year. DD is now 8 but we have been going since she was 5 or 6. It's a great age since there is so much interactive. Stop and watch the parades (I think it's the fife and bugle corps), then let him follow along at the tail end. Learn how to roll hoops, a children's game, from the women in the street.
Stop and notice one of the women sitting and knitting or tatting lace. You can strike up the conversation and they are great at engaging the kids. Mine was there one day when a man came up with a rooster, and she got to pet and hold it. The re-enactment volunteers love their jobs and the chance to engage with visitors. Mine is always fascinated by the blacksmith and printer shops. Of course, make sure to stop and get your photos at the stockade. You can read books ahead of time based in that period to give some context to him, but also be able to carry along a bit of interesting commentary to give him a sense of what he's seeing. I forget which location, but one has parlor games that were played back then and the kids can play. |
Anonymous
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Brick making
Busch Gardens Jamestown |
Anonymous
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I posted at 12:13, and can't believe I forgot the period re-enactors like the blacksmith -- those are a lot of fun. The smith is the most exciting, with the molten metal, and you can stay as long as you want, or move on if the kids are bored. Some let you help, if that's safe. Also, I'm not sure if it's seasonal, but the thing where the light the lights at the big house (sorry, forgetting the name) is awesome -- they have the drum and fife parade as part of that, and of course the "lights" are fire, so it's all pretty cool.
There are lots of animals around, so the kids usually like that as well. The spy game is cool, but is pretty complicated and takes a long time, so not good for a kid that doesn't have a long attention span. When we went, my 10 year old liked it, but the younger kids did not care about it after the first or second clue. I think it's perfect for tweens, but beware that it keeps you running around the whole site. I think the key is to focus on the interactive stuff, and not get too caught up in the tours of old furniture stuff. And it really helps if they have basic knowledge about the Coloniral era and the revolution. |
Anonymous
| There are also a number of outdoor theater type things that are fun for kids. My kids enjoyed meeting James Madison in the garden behind his mentor's house. Ox cart ride was also a hit. |
Anonymous
Your kids are prek and baby. Op's kid is 7. Its a stretch to compare. OP- is your kid in fcps? If so, theres a huge emphasis on VA history, even though he's not quite in 4th gr, it will be intersting. Get the triangle pass to include Jamestown and Yorktown (there was a great deal on it for VA residents not too long ago). Both places are interactive and have outdoor hands-on activities. |
Anonymous
I wasn't comparing. I just said I was following too since I was going to start a post anyway. For the good of the discussion I mentioned what we were doing. No comparison. |