A Day in History

Some of the best days I have with the kids are days that start out with no plan.  Days where we're just sitting around the house one minute, and packing a picnic lunch and heading out the door the next ... with no plans or destination in mind.

Today we did just that, and found ourselves having a picnic lunch outside of the county's Museum of History.  I took a gamble and decided that there had to be something inside of there that would appeal to the kids, and knew full well that the airconditioning alone would appeal to me on such a hot, humid day!

The building where the museum is housed is amazing in itself.  It's the old county courthouse where Abe Lincoln himself practiced law as a young attorney.  The kids really enjoyed being able to walk around a real courtroom, and taking turns acting as judge and jury, and taking the witness stand ...

A temporary exhibit in the museum this summer was a look at how and what we eat, and the differences in kitchens from the 1800s to today.  I loved looking at the kitchen of the 1970's, and pointing out to the kids that we had the same fride and macrame owl when I was growing up!

The kids weren't nearly as interested in the kitchen displays as I was, but they sure did enjoy playing in the play kitchen area at the end of the display while mommy looked.

Their favorite part of the history museum, by far, was the pioneer home exhibit.  There, the kids were able to try on some of the clothes of the period, and use tools and utensils of the day to perform daily chores.  They played in that area for well over a 1/2 hour, and begged not to leave!  I'll have to keep this place in mind on a cold winter's day!

Some of the best days I have with the kids aren't planned.  They're days where we wander and explore and find something to do to keep ourselves busy.  And sometimes we find a place like this one ... that will surely be added to our "things to do" list from now on!