happymom Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 We will be visiting the DC area Nov 2nd and 3rd. We live in Richmond so visit there frequently and have done all of the usual monuments and museums many times. We would like to do something a little different this time but fun and not too expensive. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with the following places and would be willing to share them with me: Woody's Golf Range @ http://woodysgolf.com/perils-of-the-lost-jungle/ This looks fantastic on-line. Says it's rated one of the top 5 Mini Golf Courses in America! by Newsweek Magazine. Does it deserve this rating? Pumkinville and Leesburg Animal Park @http://www.pumpkinfestleesburg.com/Activities.html Has anyone been to this this season. Would a 10 and 13 year old enjoy this or is it geared to a younger crowd? Fort Ward -http://oha.alexandriava.gov/fortward/ any opinions? We just finished up a study of the Civil War. The National Museum of the Marine Corps and Heritage Center @ http://www.usmcmuseum.com/Museum_Expansion.asp We always pass this on our way up to DC and wonder about it. One more thing. How do you feel about taking a 10 and 13 yr old to the Holocaust Museum? How is the exhibit Remember the Children: Daniel’s Story? Would you recommend them seeing anything in the Permanent Exhibition or would it be too disturbing. Anything else that should be on our to do list? The schools down here are closed on Nov 3rd. Are they closed up there too? Just wondering about crowds. Any info will be appreciated and hopefully help other too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I can answer a few of the questions for you: Pumpkinville and the Leesburg Animal Park are geared for younger children. There's a bouncy bubble, a giant slide, a hay ride, animals to feed, a pony to ride in a small enclosed area, and...not a lot else. It's fun for younger children, but it's pretty limited. Woody's Golf Range -- I've never played there, but the rest of my family have, and they said it was extremely fun! When they went there was an Amazon jungle theme. There were surprises, like giant "spiders" jumping out at unexpected times. I think it's supposed to be much better than the average mini golf range. But are you sure Woody's is open this late in the year? I kind of suspect it'll be closed. I haven't been to the Holocaust Museum, but I wouldn't hesitate to take my child to the children's exhibit. I suppose it really depends on how sensitive your children are. Of course, you'll want to prepare them beforehand. I'm pretty sure the schools will be closed on Election Day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 Are you talking about the Marine Corps Museum up by Stafford/Quantico? That place in INCREDIBLE. The littles, mediums, and bigs LOVE it. Highly recommended :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 (edited) Really liked the Marine Corp museum-- Used to live next to Ft. Ward when my husband was in Seminary--It's basically a very small museum in a pretty park. The embankments (I think that's what you call them) are small green hills--there are fake cannons on some of them and some fairly interesting plaques of info. If you were coming in the spring, I'd say definitely go, just to see the azaleas! lol If you are in Alexandria, you might as well go to Generous George's on Duke St for pizza. Order one with everything, and think of me. Holocaust Museum is great. Mt. Vernon is a really nice place. There's the house, of course, which is nicely done, but there's also a new (in the last two years) education museum that is fab. It has several movies, one of which (the Yorktown one) has "special effects," including fake snow (really soap bubbles!). It's very well done and worth every penny. YOu can see the slave quarters, the house, and the museum in about 3 hours. Up the street (on the way to my house, btw! lol) is Washington's Grist Mill. It's a quick tour and they still grind corn. You can even buy cornmeal ground right there. Oh, and the gift shop at Mt. V is quite nice. If you decide on Mt. V and want some Civil War/Rev War stuff, you could come see me at Pohick Church, the church of George Mason and George Washington, 6 miles from Mt. V. I give cookies or brownies and lemonade or hot chocolate to passersby...:D ETA__Ah, I see you've probably done Mt. Vernon. Still, if you haven't seen the education museum, it's really neat. Also, there's a Frank Lloyd Wright House about 3 miles away (on the Woodlawn Plantation site) that is worth a visit. Edited October 29, 2009 by Chris in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I don't know anything about the places you mentioned, but here's a place just outside DC that we went to just today. It's a colonial farm (year 1771) and if you want to you can join them in helping work the farm the "old fashioned" way. http://1771.org/index.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I don't know anything about the places you mentioned, but here's a place just outside DC that we went to just today. It's a colonial farm (year 1771) and if you want to you can join them in helping work the farm the "old fashioned" way. http://1771.org/index.htm We did this a few years ago. It was interesting & my dd helped out some around the farm while we were there. My mom was along & said she found being around that lifestyle depressing because it was easy to see that there was little 'progress' from being a poor farmer in the 1700s to being a poor farmer in rural NC in the 1940s & 50s (her childhood situation). Her perspective made our trip even more interesting. President Lincoln's Cottage has recently opened & could be a neat place to visit. We haven't been there yet, so I don't know anything about it. Some other neat things we've done there: Mt. Vernon's Gristmill & Distillery (a few miles away from the actual grounds of Mt. Vernon; we've visited quite a few times & really enjoy it; few to no crowds/people there; ETA: oops, I see it is open April-Oct. only) Looked at Darth Vader on Washington National Cathedral (plus, many other very cool gargoyles) C&O Canal Boat pulled by mules in Georgetown (open April-Oct.; fun & interesting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightside Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I would recommend the Newseum, it opened in the last year or so I believe. It is the history of journalism and news/historic events. They have an awesome 4D movie and tons of exhibits including part of the Berlin wall and a huge 9/11 exhibit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happymom Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks for all of the replies so far. You've given me some great new ideas of places to visit for this trip and future trips. A couple of responses: Yes, I was refering to the Marine Corps Museum up by Stafford/Quantico. Glad to hear that it's INCREDIBLE. I looked at it's web-site again and I think I will save this one and the Newseum for another trip at the end of the year. We are studing American History(Civil War-911) this year and I think these two places will be more meaningful after we have studied more about current events. I called and Woody's Golf Range (Perils of the Lost Jungle ) and it is open Nov 2nd and 3rd. They will closed for the winter season when it gets colder. The working farm is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and the C&O canal boats will close the end of Oct so those two places will have to be saved for another trip as well. President Lincoln's Cottage looks interesting. Has anyone done this and what was it like? The tour sounds unusual. The following is from their website. What exactly does this mean? "The tour professional guide uses “historical voices†and images through multimedia technology to bring the stories of Abraham Lincoln and his family to life" I'm still wondering about the Holocaust Museum. It was requested by my daughter but I'm worried that my 10yr old is two young. That's why I'd like input on specific parts that would be worth seeing but would not be too disturbing. I'm sure all of it would be emotional. We've read The Hiding Place and other books about the Holocaust so they have background information. I know the schools take up middle school children to see it. I'm just not sure which parts they see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I know the schools take up middle school children to see it. I'm just not sure which parts they see. Could you call the museum's information desk or email their school groups contact to find out that info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 (edited) Very timely! We're headed out for a week in DC. Are the schools there closed on the 3rd?? We were trying to minimize crowds. lol Oh well. We're going to the Spy Museum downtown. Not sure if you've been there, OP. My kids liked the DVD they saw of it. The Holocaust Museum is amazing. It's also intense, as one might imagine, given the subject. I've been, and I sobbed. The rail-car is like kick in the gut. And the shoes... It was haunting. I am not going this time around and I am not bringing my 10 yr old. However, my 17 yr old dd is going with her father. There are young children in the museum, so she wouldn't be the only child. I have Jewish friends who have brought their children, as it's a topic that comes up often, especially for those who lost family. There is an exhibit esp for children that you could do, I think it's called Remembering the Children? I'll check. I've thought about that, but I just don't think I can visit and still keep it together the rest of my trip. It took me a long time to feel 'normal' again. I am worried about my 17 yr old as well. I have thought about having dh do just the child's tour, although what's worse than thinking about dead babies? Still, it needs to be seen by everyone at some point, imo. Edited October 30, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 OH yes, the Spy Museum is way, way cool. There are sections on spies throughout history, so the Civil War spies are covered (Egypt, WWW's 1 and 2, etc, too). There's a specific "kid" version of the Holocaust Museum--still intense but less so. You could probably split up and do that. Call for more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Chris, do you know if DC schools are closed on the 3rd? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 IDK. Fairfax County is--there are probably enough schools closed to make it a little less crowded. FFC does weird, two day holidays at the end of each quarter. Don't know if DC does, but the DC school website would tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks. Have your been to the exhibit for children? If so, can you tell me a little about it? I feel that I should go with my dd, but I am afraid of trying to get through the rest of the week. I don't mean to sound like a dolt, but I was sidelined after that, and I was very educated on what what on. I won't say I learned new things about it, but the presentation, the the trapped feeling in the elevators...the shoes...I was a mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 YOu know, while I think the Holocaust is EXTREMELY important, I am making the choice not to expose my dd to any stories, fiction or otherwise, about it yet. She's in 4th grade. SHe'll be 10 in April, and I am going to wait until 6th grade to really introduce anything heavy about it. I think it gets pushed down to younger and younger children in public school. For example, they are reading Number the Stars this year in school. It's a great book and a gentle introduction to the subject , if you can call it gentle at all. But I just feel in my gut I want to wait. All this to say, if you don't want to do the Holocaust Museum, then...Don't. It's ok to wait, even until high school, imo. We just say terrible things happened in the war, and Hitler had very evil ideas that many people in power listened to, so lots and lots of people were hurt. It was awful. And we leave it at that until much later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 (edited) is this for me? YOu know, while I think the Holocaust is EXTREMELY important, I am making the choice not to expose my dd to any stories, fiction or otherwise, about it yet. She's in 4th grade. SHe'll be 10 in April, and I am going to wait until 6th grade to really introduce anything heavy about it. I think it gets pushed down to younger and younger children in public school. For example, they are reading Number the Stars this year in school. It's a great book and a gentle introduction to the subject , if you can call it gentle at all. But I just feel in my gut I want to wait. All this to say, if you don't want to do the Holocaust Museum, then...Don't. It's ok to wait, even until high school, imo. We just say terrible things happened in the war, and Hitler had very evil ideas that many people in power listened to, so lots and lots of people were hurt. It was awful. And we leave it at that until much later. Edited October 31, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 I was talking with a friend (who is a research historian here in Richmond) about taking my then-12 yo to the Richmond Holocaust museum and she said, and I quote, "No way in H--- would I take a kid there. Go to the one in DC instead. The Richmond museum is MUCH too intense for kids." We haven't yet had the chance to go, but based on that we'll head up to DC and not downtown. YMMV! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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