For the past few years, I have been meaning to take my kids out to the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. I was finally able to do so at the start of this summer, and was truly happy we were able to make the 1.15 hour drive. During the months of May and June, they offer a wonderful free archaeology program, which is what we made reservations to do. Make sure to check the calendar and make your reservations before going. Certain days are field days where you can dig, while others are lab days where you help to clean and catalogue the finds from the field. When we first arrived, we went into the visitors center which was clean, and had a small discovery room and a gift shop to look at. The focus of this visitors center and the entire park focuses on life on the Chesapeake Bay. After the visitors shop, we went down to the lab area, and met up with our guide, who took us down to the field site.
Once at the field site, our guide was kind and patient with the kids, and explained about life on the plantation. He then told us what we would be digging for, and got us started. The kids were very excited to find a piece of an old pipe, as well as lots of pieces of brick, old nails, etc...They also learned quite a bit about the history of the house, the family that lived there, and how do be an archaelogist!While they were tired after a few hours, there were certainly several other hikes and trails in the area, as well as an "Indian Village" that was created about 10 years ago in honor of John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay. This could definitely be a 1/2 day or full day trip depending on what you want to do. Always check their calendar of events to see what is coming up in the future.
Website: http://www.jefpat.org/index.html
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