The Explore All 50 States Project
Let's Go!
Ever wondered what life was life for immigrants at the turn of the century living in what was then the most densely populated place on earth? Now you can experience it by taking a tour at The Tenement Museum like Isaac and I did. Located in what's known as The Lower East Side, an original tenement building was purchased by the museum and sort of restored to show visitors what life was like here in it's hey … [Read more...]
As I planned our trip to Alaska, one of our main goals was to learn more about the native peoples-their history, their culture and their relationship with the land, surviving brutal winters in sub freezing temperatures. As we arrived in Anchorage we couldn't wait to explore the Alaska Native Heritage Center, a wonderful experiential museum that is a great introduction to all the native villages. Living in Alaska is … [Read more...]
I don’t know about you, but I love living history museums like Connor Prairie-Interactive History Park. It’s so much more fun when you can touch and do instead of just look at things behind glass. Connor Prairie is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. Stepping inside the visitor center there were some fabulous interactive displays to teach us about the time periods and activities we would be exploring … [Read more...]
Visiting the Living History Farms is like getting in a time machine and arriving at a farm during three different time periods. You will see the same area as a 1700 Ioway Indian settlement, an 1850 Pioneer farm, and a 1900 horse-power farm and it's an incredible lesson to see how some things change and some things remain the same throughout each farm. It’s a self-guided tour, so you can wander at will, but there … [Read more...]
Charles Towne Landing is a 663-acre park located on the site where English settlers first landed in 1670, thereby establishing the birthplace of the Carolina colony and the plantation system that eventually spread throughout the American South. Checking in at the visitors center were found out there were two parts to this visit. The first part entailed a walk/hike around the settlement and the second part … [Read more...]
If you'd like to find out what life was like in 1897 and don't have a time machine handy, you can do what we did and visit the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer. We entered this wonderful historic village and explored all the hands-on exhibits. What I loved was that each exhibit had some terrific senior citizens in historic dress ready to show us lots of cool stuff. You could just tell how much they … [Read more...]
After seeing Plymouth Rock, head to the Plimoth Plantation and experience life as a Pilgrim. Living history museums are so fun because it's an experience and not just looking at displays. You get to take part and learn by participating. Learn about the Wampanoag tribe of Native Americans who lived side by side with the Pilgrims by visit ing a Wampanoag village with real descendants of the tribe who work here to … [Read more...]
The Ingalls Family Homestead in De Smet is the original homestead where the Ingalls family settled after coming out west and was the inspiration for many of the stories in the Little House On The Prairie series written by Laura Ingalls Wilder who lived here as a young girl. You need not have read any of her books to appreciate this stop-though my daughter Lilia had and she gave us a running commentary through our … [Read more...]
Passing over the bridge to Roanoke Island we found ourselves entering a quaint area with a legendary history. Roanoke Island has been known in American history for its significance as the site of Sir Walter Raleigh’s planting of an English settlement with his Roanoke Colony in 1585 and 1587. The Anglo-Spanish war delayed the delivery of much needed supplies and when a ship was finally able to make it back to the … [Read more...]
Old Salem Museum and Gardens is another great place to learn about another group who sought religious freedom here in the colonies while experiencing persecution in Europe. Old Salem is home to one of the original Moravian settlements called Bethabara. The community was established in a 1753 and made up of many that had been persecuted in Europe and fled to the new world for religious freedom. The Moravians were … [Read more...]
