Our quest to learn more about the American Revolution led to us to Valley Forge National Historical Park. We are on our way for a business trip to New Jersey and we decided to make a stop on the park.
It was rainy day when we first got there. So that aside from the Visitor Center – where we got the junior ranger activity page – we only manage to take the encampment tour without making stop. Trying to spot things that were in the
We went back a week after. It was still breezy but the at least the rain isn’t there. This allowed us to go through the encampment tour again. This time with stops along the way.
First Stop: City of Huts
Our first stop is the City of Huts where we can see the huts made of tree logs. These were built by the soldiers during the Winter 1777 encampment. We counted the logs in each of the huts. We learned that these huts are not created equal. High ranking officers get a suite while the low ranking gets to share huts with bunk beds. Part of the Junior Ranger Program is to count the number of logs used to build a hut. We counted 40 logs per hut.
Second Stop: Redoubt
The redoubts are built to protect the soldiers from incoming attacks. We particularly like the telescope like tool that soldiers used to spot incoming enemies. Yeah, the kids had fun pretending to shot canyons.
Third Stop: Memorial Arch
Probably one of the centerpiece in the park that should not be missed.
What we learned:
The reason why George Washington chose Valley Forge for the encampment.
How to identify an oak tree, maple tree and sweet gum! Very interesting find.
Our first time seeing redoubts and taking a closer look on how it was made and used. Again, it is awesome!
Two things we wish we did was doing a trail and visiting the Washington Headquarters. We saw the headquarters but it the rain was pouring. The parking space is a little bit far from the building. So we skip it. Maybe next time.
The Learning Story 