Learning Curve: Woodrow Wilson Museum

As we continue our study of Virginia, I’m finding so many to see and do! It’s amazing how many historical places are literally in your own backyard and you just never took time to notice! 045

Such was the case today as we ventured out to visit the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. The name makes it sound as though you’re going to be looking at piles of books, but that is totally not the case! We went on a lovely tour of the Manse where President Wilson was born. The tour director was wonderful! Incredibly personable and a wealth of information about the museum and the area as well.

On a side note, we were the only non-retirees in our tour group. I could almost hear them groan when they realized “oh God they have kids with them”. About midway through the tour, after Olivia had answered several questions posed by the tour guide, one older gentleman asked me “How on earth did you get them so interested in history?” Seriously, until then, I really didn’t realize that yes, they both really DO like history! Now, back to our main story….

Photography was not allowed inside the Manse. So you’ll have to visit in person to see the interior. Woodrow Wilson was born in this home, and lived here for approximately 11 months before his family relocated to Georgia.

Below are photos of the front of the Manse and the garden area.

The museum has an incredible amount of information, artifacts and some wonderful historians! Olivia and Lindsey were each given a scavenger hunt list of items to locate and identify throughout the museum, and upon completion they were each given prizes.

The Pierce Arrow Limousine was probably one of my husband’s favorite parts of the museum.

Here is an close up photo of the presidential seal that is on the door of the limousine.

One of the newest exhibits is from World War I. They have bunkers, a field hospital and weaponry. If you look to the top of the photo on the left below, you’ll see light…there is simulated bomb explosions flaring from the opposite side of the bunker. Very life like, loud, and scary. Olivia said “Mom, war is scary sounding.” I explained that it was a lot more scary than it sounded. She asked why we have to learn about wars, and explained, that the only way to keep from making the same mistakes over is to remember what got us into wars to begin with.