A Day at Greenfield Village

We are pretty fortunate to have the Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum just a short drive away.  Even better, the museum offers a fabulous discounted membership for teachers, including homeschoolers, which makes it very affordable for our family to have a fun day of hands-on education.

We decided to enjoy the summer day at the Village with some friends.  We reserve the museum more for the colder months, when the Village portion is closed.  There is so much to see at the Village, but it seems like the kids want to return to the same things each visit.  One of the all-time favorites is the games on the Village Green.  The kids visited this area not once, but twice.  The first thing they ran to was the stilts.

Now, let me explain that the last time we visited, less than a year ago, the teens of the crowd held back, not sure if they were too old for such childish games.  This time, they ran right up with the younger ones and didn't care if they looked cool or not.  However, if you closer at my daughter, on the far left, you'll see there is still a fair amount of teen 'tude. Just in case you can't see in the top photo... :)

Sweet, huh?

I must say, their stilt walking skills have improved since our last visit.  Much less falling off this time!

My always-has-to-be-moving kid especially liked this part of the village.

One of the most popular games with our kids was the Game of Graces. In fact, they had so much fun with this game that my daughter bought one in the gift shop, as did our friends.

Our next stop was the Daggett Farmhouse, where my son and my friend's daughter decided they were going to dip candles.

You can see the rest of our group relaxing in the shade during the candle production.

Playing games and making candles is long, hard work!  After sitting down for lunch while being entertained by a performer telling tales of Huckleberry Finn, the kids went back to the Village Green again for more games. We then headed over to one of my favorite places in the Village, Thomas Edison's laboratory.

This time we even heard an actual recording of Thomas Edison when he actually visited Greenfield Village before his death.  Below you'll see an early version of the light bulb.

With the day quickly slipping by, we stopped for some ice cream and a quick visit to the see the glass blowing, then headed back home.  We'll have to visit again soon and check out some of the attractions we missed.

All in all it was a great day for a visit.  When we got home, my kids were quick to pull out the newly acquired Game of Graces for a few games in the front yard.

Who knew a hoop and a couple pair of sticks could be so much fun?