This week, on the way back from a camping trip in
Shenandoah National Park, we stopped at
Monticello to visit the home of the one and only Thomas Jefferson. It was on my bucket list of places to take the kids, and having done it, I certainly recommend it. My one caveat is that maybe Spring or Fall might be nicer times to go than July or August.
After three days at a campground without showers (severe storms had knocked out the power), and in the middle of a heat wave, we mostly shunned the garden tour and the slaves quarters, but we did take in a short educational film at the Visitor's Center and the tour of his house. Both places are air conditioned.
Heat wave aside, it seemed especially appropriate to be paying our respects to the author of our Constitution the day before the July 4th holiday.
Thomas Jefferson is one of my heroes. He was an amazing man. He was a farmer, planting several varieties of crops to see which worked the best in American soils (and thus applying the scientific method). He was the first to do paleontological work in the United States, digging up mastodon bones on his property. He was an architect, taking ideas from places he had been and incorporating them into his house, which he built upon constantly over a number of decades. He was an avid reader and philosopher, amassing a huge collection of books, most of which he couldn't afford, and then donating a large number of them to found the
Library of Congress. As our third president, he conceived and sent off the
Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the new territory he had acquired from the French, the
Louisiana Purchase. All this and more is explained when you visit, and it's a great history lesson.
The admission price covers the film, the tour of the house, the tours of the slave quarters and gardens, a self-guided tour at the basement level of the work areas, his grave site, and the other museums and galleries. A shuttle takes you from the Visitors Center to the house at the top of the hill. When you are done, be sure to visit the
Discovery Room below the cafe in the Visitor's Center, which is a hands-on area for kids to explore.
They also have behind the scenes tours and special programs for groups if you so desire.
The following are several pictures I took while we were there followed by some Colonial and Revolutionary War era resources for learning with kids...
Our tour guide was marvelous. She was knowledgable, friendly, professional and helpful.
Jefferson had this connected to his weathervane on the roof, so you could find out the wind speed and direction just by looking up while on the porch.
He had double-pane windows at a time when that was unheard of.
There were activities outside for the kids. Writing with quill pens, making an observation booklet, and trying out a primitive camera.
There are some lovely old trees on the grounds around the house.
The basement is a self-guided tour area where the slaves, freed blacks, and other workers ran things. The kitchen, storerooms, stables, and other rooms can be accessed from here. There were demonstrations of keys, the dumbwaiter for wine that Jefferson had put in, and other things.
In the kids Discovery Center, the kids were able to touch and try things they had seen in the house that were kind of neat and interesting.
There was a copy of the bed that Jefferson used. It's nestled in an alcove between two rooms. Apparently, recessed beds were common in France at the time. Jefferson's bed was open on both sides.
He had a clock in his entry hall that ran using the weight of several cannonballs. It had to be rewound each week and they would drop slowly as the week went on. He marked the wall where they would be each day, so that you could look at the wall and see what day and time it was on the wall. The only problem is he ran out of wall before he ran out of week, so he cut a hole in the floor so that he could continue it into the basement! This picture is of the recreation in the kids room. No photos were allowed inside the house, unfortunately.
He was able to make copies of his work with this device. It's harder to use than it looks.
Monticello is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, about three hours north of Durham. Here's the address. It's beautiful country close to the mountains.
931 Thomas Jefferson Parkway
Charlottesville, VA 22902
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Here are some other resources if you'd like to do a little lesson on Thomas Jefferson and the founding of our country, or colonial and revolutionary times. I realize this would have been much more useful before the July 4th holiday, but maybe it'll serve as a resource for next year.
Books:
Videos:
John Adams. 2008 (Probably only for older teens and adults as there are some really heavy scenes, but marvelously educational)
Online:
printable materials (for a price) (there are other things here at Currclick but I have not actually tried any of them):
Montecello: Historic Monuments Series on Currclick
The Monticello Classroom. by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation (part of the Website for Monticello itself). There are lesson plans and such here. I was able to view a few without registering.
