Published: July 24, 2008 11:29 pm            

Making history come alive

National parks are perfect vacation destinations for families

FAIRMONT — With just a little over a month left in the summer vacation season, you’re going to want to do something really special with the kids.

Something more meaningful than a trip to an amusement park or swimming pool. Something fun yet worthwhile, and out of town yet not too far away.

When you realize that you live just hours from several major Civil War national parks, your dilemma has been solved. Just pack up the car and in three hours you’ll be at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

(If this is a successful trip, you can plan on later visiting other Civil War national parks, such as Antietam, Manassas, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg.)

Being a good parent, you want this trip to be educational (just don’t say the “e-word” around the kids). Being a wise parent, you know it has to be fun. And being a clever parent, you know there should be a way to combine the two.

Relax. The National Park Service is way ahead of you.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park has three family and youth programs to keep everyone entertained, said Amber Kraft, education specialist.

• “Hands On History” is a half-hour program that allows you “to experience history firsthand,” she said. The topics include period history to dressing and drilling like a soldier.

“It’s interactive and fun, and makes history come alive.”

• “You Choose History.” Families may sign up a topic that interests them (Lewis and Clark, the Civil War, Harpers Ferry history).

• “Trek the Trails” hiking program.

“We have fabulous trails through the park,” she said. “We want to get people out to enjoy nature. The hikes depend on their interest, from easy, moderate to strenuous.”

Youngsters may also sign up for the Junior Ranger Program, in which they complete activities to earn junior ranger badges.

All programs are free with paid park admission of $6 per vehicle.

There are also living history exhibits that depict 1800s Harpers Ferry. Children may stop by the Provost Marshal’s Office to get their park pass signed or visit the Dry Goods Store to see how much candy cost in 1859.

People continue to be fascinated by the Civil War, she said.

“It’s relevant today. There is so much going on around the world. It fascinates people. The stories are very real here in Harpers Ferry. We were Virginia and West Virginia, Confederate and Union ... part of both sides.

“Some historians argue that John Brown’s Raid (on Oct. 16, 1859, on the federal arsenal) was the beginning of the Civil War,” she said.

But there’s more to the park than Civil War history, she said.

“We have the wetlands, Lewis and Clark, 19th century life, the Niagara Movement and Storer College. There’s something for everybody to relate to.

“And with the Niagara Movement and Storer College, a cross section of American history happened here,” she said.

“Harpers Ferry is so diverse,” Kraft said. “We have all those different stories. There is something for everybody. Battlefields. Museums. Living history. Hiking. Activities for students.

“There is a wealth of things to do. You won’t be bored.”

For more information, call (304) 535-6029.

Once you’ve done the park, hike up to 168 High St. to the John Brown Wax Museum, where the doomed abolitionist’s trial and execution in nearby Charles Town are retold through life-size, life-like wax mannequins.

Or hike along the Shenandoah River on Virginius Island, or to Bolivar Heights or even Maryland Heights.

You could even tackle the Appalachian Trail, which hugs the Virginia-West Virginia border for miles, and enters West Virginia via a footbridge over the Potomac River.

The more athletic types will enjoy rafting and kayaking on the Shenandoah River, and hiking the many trails.

And this trip is teacher-approved.

“When you visit places like these and then read about them in a book, you’re more apt to remember them,” said Mary Tate, teacher at West Fairmont Middle School.

“You can relate to the information and are more involved. It’s a teaching tool for the student ... and teacher.”

The neat thing is that you never know what memories a child will bring back from a trip like this, she said.

“We don’t know the things the kids bring to us. It’s two-fold. We’re learning and they’re teaching, and vice versa.”

It would be nice if schools could get grants to take students on trips like these, she said.

“Some kids might never go to a historical site,” she said.

“If a student is interested in the Civil War, this might give them initiative to want to study more or learn more or do cross-vacations to some place else related to the Civil War.

“It might make them more eager to go to these areas.”

In between shopping for souvenirs and stopping for snacks, a child just might learn a thing or two. And who knows what could happen then?

“This gives them the basis to interpret why a person did what he did. How did North and South fighting help the country?

“They’re able to put themselves in that position. They can ask themselves, ‘If I were Robert E. Lee, would I have done things that way?’

“It causes them to further investigate why things happened and the results. Was it worth fighting the Civil War? Did it make America better today?

“It gives them a lot of reasons to investigate and make it fun.”

Parents can prime their children before embarking on the trip by letting them look up information on the Internet and even possible virtual tours, Tate said.

“It’s history being made real ... history coming to life.”

“It’s important children can experience history firsthand and relive it,” said Doris Garcia, social studies teacher at West Fairmont Middle School.

“We talk about hands-on experience, rather than reading about. Connecting it to their own lives.

“Something you actually see and experience will be imbedded in your memory forever.”

Break out the atlas and state maps, and visit the battlefields and walk the country roads traveled by Union and Confederate soldiers so long ago.

“Kids like to follow battles on the map,” she said. “Get out a map of Civil War battles and show where each of the battles happened.”

She hasn’t visited these parks but would like to, she said.

Children of any age would appreciate a trip to the historic park, she added.

“Even preschoolers. Take pictures of them there with the landmarks. It will help them remember the trip ... and learn.

“It’s important for them to know about things that have happened and see them firsthand.

“If they can see pictures of them standing in front of the Washington Monument, for example, even at a young age, they will connect with it.”

E-mail Debra Minor Wilson at dwilson@timeswv.com.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.