Craig Carmoney’s BLOG

I’m Craig Carmoney, a retired School Superintendent and enjoys taking educational trips with my family. This is the second blog post on how to make your next vacation one that can incorporate love of learning, as well as enlightening entertainment.

Washington, D.C.

The American capital is where a life-size African elephant, the Wright Brothers’ sky-breaking flier, and 10,000 years of American Indian history are mere steps from each other.

The Smithsonian Institution’s numerous museums are a good place to start, but D.C. is also a perfect place to learn about how the government functions and how bills become laws, as well as uncover the complexity of democracy.

The list of must see sites will certainly fill multiple days of learning for both parents and children.  Things to consider include:  The Jefferson Monument, Lincoln Memorial, US Capitol, Washington Monument, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, and many more.  The good news is that the majority of these are free to visit.  

There’s also a steady schedule of events geared toward children, such as sleepovers at museums and cultural festivals.

Montana

If there’s a dinosaur lover in the family (and what family doesn’t have at least one?), the Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta, Montana, doesn’t just offer fossils behind glass.

Families can actually become paleontologists, joining the professionals as they excavate bones, uncover footprints, and get a close-up look and understanding of geological features that provided the backdrop for the age of dinosaurs.

The Missouri River, North Dakota

The home of several American Indian tribes — Hidatsa, Arikara, and Mandan nations — the Missouri River area in North Dakota opens up a part of American history often overlooked in the classroom.

Among the options: touring the earth lodges of the Mandan at Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, visiting Washburn’s Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, and exploring the earth lodges and river trails at the Knife River Indian Villages near Stanton.

Please check back later for more places to visit.