- Joined
- Feb 7, 2006
- Location
- Midlothian, VA
I just got home from my daughter's field trip to Pamplin (4th graders). I had never been there before but this is a very nice facility and museum and I would totally recommend it. In the museum you are given a headset and as you walk through the museum instead of having to read signs, all of the content is delivered via audio. They talk about camp life, prisoners of war, medicine etc etc it is excellently presented. The only part I was disappointed about is we did not have time to see the "War so Terrible" movie.
After you leave the museum there is a plantation that is just over 200 years old Not a huge home but big enough. They also have the building next to it to show how house slaves would have worked. The guide talked to the kids about plantation owners, small farmers, house slaves and field slaves around the plantation areas.
Then we got the fortifications. The guide talked to the kids about tactics and we split the class in half to demonstrate a flanking movement. We had a stop to talk about food and clothing, as well as explaining to the kids what the #1 killer was...disease. There was a station set up with a young man in period clothing to talk about camp life. This is on an actual camp site used by Confederate soldiers during the siege of Petersburg. He talked about a half and half tent, winter quarters and then he talked about punishments for soldiers in camp who misbehaved.
The final part at the forifications was drill. They have used concrete to reconstruct what the actual fortificaiton would have looked like in 1865 complete with the ditch in front, abatis etc etc. So each child was given a fake rifle. First our drill sergrant demonstrated the 9 steps to fire and fired an actual shot. Then we lined the kids up, taught them the 9 steps and pretend to fire. Next up was using a pretend bayonet and how you would advance with it, every 3rd step they were to yell like the devil. We wanted to scare the other side to run away moreso then actually using they bayonet. The kids loved the drill part. We also saw the actual fortifcations as they are now and the guide talked to the kids about Charles Gould, including showing them the Troiani painting.
The kids were engaged and focused the entire day. I went to Jamestown with the same class last fall, and they were not as focused there. I was very impressed in the way the material was presented that there was no sugar coating. It was straight on war talk and all the implications of it.
I don't have any pictures. I brought my digital camera but my daughter grabbed it as soon as I got there and took pictures of her friends.
And I will go back with my wife to see the entire park at my leisure
After you leave the museum there is a plantation that is just over 200 years old Not a huge home but big enough. They also have the building next to it to show how house slaves would have worked. The guide talked to the kids about plantation owners, small farmers, house slaves and field slaves around the plantation areas.
Then we got the fortifications. The guide talked to the kids about tactics and we split the class in half to demonstrate a flanking movement. We had a stop to talk about food and clothing, as well as explaining to the kids what the #1 killer was...disease. There was a station set up with a young man in period clothing to talk about camp life. This is on an actual camp site used by Confederate soldiers during the siege of Petersburg. He talked about a half and half tent, winter quarters and then he talked about punishments for soldiers in camp who misbehaved.
The final part at the forifications was drill. They have used concrete to reconstruct what the actual fortificaiton would have looked like in 1865 complete with the ditch in front, abatis etc etc. So each child was given a fake rifle. First our drill sergrant demonstrated the 9 steps to fire and fired an actual shot. Then we lined the kids up, taught them the 9 steps and pretend to fire. Next up was using a pretend bayonet and how you would advance with it, every 3rd step they were to yell like the devil. We wanted to scare the other side to run away moreso then actually using they bayonet. The kids loved the drill part. We also saw the actual fortifcations as they are now and the guide talked to the kids about Charles Gould, including showing them the Troiani painting.
The kids were engaged and focused the entire day. I went to Jamestown with the same class last fall, and they were not as focused there. I was very impressed in the way the material was presented that there was no sugar coating. It was straight on war talk and all the implications of it.
I don't have any pictures. I brought my digital camera but my daughter grabbed it as soon as I got there and took pictures of her friends.
And I will go back with my wife to see the entire park at my leisure