MorningGlory68

My family and I will be in Washington DC the second week of June. My DH and DS will probably visit the Holocaust Museum but I'm not sure if it would be something for our 8 yr old DD to attend. Any suggestions for an alternative activity that the two of us could do in the area until DH and DS meet up with us?

Thanks in advance for the suggestions. I've found a lot of great tips and ideas on this board.

Gena

MikeT

The Holocaust Memoral is right near the Mall. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is very close

bethke14

The Holocaust museum is right off the Mall, so you're very close to many of the Smithsonian museums. It is a pretty quick (10-15 minutes, I think) walk to both the Air and Space Museum and the Natural History Museum. Both of those would be fun museums for an 8 year old.

Also, if your son wanted to experience part of the Holocaust Museum, he could see Remember the Children: Daniel's Story, which is a section about the Holocaust told from the perspective of a child, and is designed for younger children. You would not need tickets to see this exhibit.

Enjoy your trip!

MorningGlory68

Thank you MikeT and bethke14 for your suggestions. Would the Remember the Children: Daniel's Story be appropriate for my DD?

bethke14

Sorry, I mistyped - I mean that Daniel's Story would be good for your daughter! (Though your son might appreciate it as well.)According to the Museum Web site, "It is the main program for elementary and middle school children at the Museum." Walking through does not take nearly as long as viewing the rest of the Museum, but I think it would offer a good perspective. You can actually find a video for the exhibit here: http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/exhibit/

Sorry for the confusion!

MorningGlory68

Thanks for the clarification. I think we'll plan to visit this section as a family. I believe my son would find it interesting as well. He's in middle school.

Thanks again!
Gena

girlwilltravel

Have your son visit the tile room (I'm not sure what the hall is called) where children have designed tiles about this horrible time in our history. It is very moving yet appropriate for an 8 year old.

stumpworks73

An 8 year old should love the air and space museum. Everything from wright brothers to Star Trek. Short walk from Hollocaust. Very well done, one of Smithsonian's best.

Melissa5

Hi MorningGlory68, perhaps you could show your 8-year-old some photos of a couple of different museums or sites and let him/her choose. After raising 3 kids, all with different temperaments and difference sensitivities, I know that what a child is ready for differs from one child to another. When you introduce your child to the kind of evils that were done to people during the Holocaust, you need to be ready to deal with hard questions your child may ask or perhaps your child is the type who will not be able to verbalize the questions he has in his mind. This is not on the same subject, but I will never forget the look on my very intelligent 5-year-old son's face when he saw a news story on the front page of the newspaper about abortion. He asked me, what is abortion? I thought I would explain it to him in a factual manner suitable to a bright 5-year-old's understanding. However I was not prepared for his gut reaction. He was simply horrified. Don't forget he was too young to be influenced by politics, religious opinions, he didn't care what was politically correct, etc. He was simply shocked. He had never heard of anything so horrifying and it showed on his face. Because he had a baby sister, and my pregnancy had been recent for him, he knew that first you are pregnant, then your baby sister is born. There was no way I could erase the horror on his face. Whereas adults can sometimes rationalize many things, bright and sensitive children sometimes just feel it in their gut.

Anyway I know abortion is an entirely different subject. I'm just saying when you think the time and place is appropriate to educate your child about the Holocaust, be ready for difficult questions.


My bright 5-year-old son also enjoyed my reading to him at an early age, from the age of 2 on. Among the many stories we read were some Bible stories like the Noah's Ark story which many children enjoy. He asked me who wrote the bible. He was only about 3 years old. I told him some men long ago who knew Jesus wrote the Bible...(speaking of the New Testament at the time...) He asked me then if they lived so long ago, how could we be sure that they really wrote the bible? Maybe some little kids wrote the Bible, he said, and he was entirely serious! Now, try answering that one!