Taking the Kids: London's Imperial War Museum
"This makes history real for the kids ... it's not just textbooks like when I was in school," said Claudette James, visiting with her 10-year-old daughter Alexia, who opined that she didn't think she'd want to be a spy after checking out the museum's Secret War exhibit that showcases the important role of the clandestine services.
The holidays, of course, are a popular time for families to visit London and surprisingly, one of the less expensive times of the year to come, with January and February even cheaper, according to the trivago Hotel Price Index (tHPI). (While many government museums in London, like in Washington, D.C., are free, you will save money on other top attractions and avoid lines with the London Pass. You can also get an once-in-a-lifetime tour of the city -- think opening the Tower Bridge or joining the cast of a West End musical -- if you are chosen to be London's official guest of honor. All you have to do is describe a perfect day in London better than anyone else by Dec.9.)
The kids we met thought the Imperial War Museum should be on the itinerary along with the Tower of London, the London Eye and Westminster Abbey and this year, the Paddington Trail with 50 life-sized Paddington Bear statues placed all around London sites. The statues will all be sold for charity. (Here's what I wrote about everyone's favorite London bear.)
Another plus to visiting a place like the Imperial War Museum: The chance to meet local kids and share the experience with them. Kids gain a new understanding of what war meant to those who lived through it, the youth advisers said, thanks to exhibits like A Family in Wartime that shows how one working-class London family coped during World War II -- from the evacuation of children from London (46 percent of London children were evacuated to the countryside) to rationing (families had to grow their own fruit and vegetables) to using parachute silk for wedding dresses.
"My favorite part is the jacket of Harold Cope," said Elena, who won't forget showing the shrapnel-riddled jacket to Prince William when the exhibit opened. "Harold Cope survived his shrapnel wound from the Battle of the Somme.
It's just as important, she said, to remember "the lucky soldiers who survived."
And the generations who followed.
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