(pictured above: My toddler sitting in a civil war era school desk at the Gettysburg Children's Museum)
My father is a big history guy, so for his 70th birthday, we all made the trip out to Gettysburg. Obviously, Gettysburg isn't the ideal trip for a toddler but this trip wasn't about him. Surprisingly, it worked out pretty well for us! Lucky for my fam, my two-year-old is happy adventuring anywhere new and loves walking around new places.
For our trip, we stayed at the Wyndham Gettysburg which was perfect. It's a great hotel with historical decor only minutes from all the main town attractions. The room sizes were large, the price was affordable AND there was an indoor pool! If you are going to be in the area, I certainly suggest staying here. When everyone else went to watch a battle reenactment, my little guy and I just went back to the hotel to swim. The perfect divide and conquer plan!
Our toddler came along for most of the other attractions. We went to the Jennie Wade House, the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center (which was awesome!) and The Spangler Farm and Field Hospital. Our favorite, however, was the Gettysburg Children's Museum.
The Children's Museum is really unique. When you arrive you learn about several kids who actually lived in Gettysburg and you select one story to follow in the museum. Every exhibit is hands-on and participatory so learning feels like play! You can dress up in old-fashioned clothing, try out past kitchen tools, pretend you were a civil war doctor and play with toys from the time period. My toddler and my 5 year old nephew absolutely loved it AND all the adults did as well. 10 out of 10 would recommend if you will be in the area. Just note that it's small and only takes an hour and change to get thru.
The little town of Gettysburg is pretty cute and very walkable. There's also LOTS of ice cream parlors which was great for getting a treat after walking around a bit. There were also a good selection of pub type restaurants but note that the waits for many places climb quick on weekends. The towns also offers a ton of ghost tours but with two kids in tow, we decided to skip that.
History themed trips aren't ideal for toddlers, but this one still ended up being fun for him. Whenever he got antsy, we just got him a little something to play with from the souvenir stores or a snack and he was back in the mix! Now I realize that we are lucky that we have that type of kiddo, but even the antsy littles would enjoy the children's museum. The short two night stay worked well for us and Jacob was happy to get home to all of his toys and so mommy can plan the next adventure!
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