Taking the Kids: Learning more about presidents

At the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, access the popular The American Presidency A Glorious Burden virtually and more interactives at www.historychannel.com/classroom. There is also an online version of The First Ladies at the Smithsonian, for decades one of the most popular at the Smithsonian, including the famous inaugural gowns.

The terrific Smithsonian Kids’ Website offers all kinds of activities for at-home fun and learning, including digital jigsaw puzzles, American History activities (create your own Lincoln hat where the president kept important notes inside, or meet Grace Bedell, who was 11 when she sent Abraham Lincoln, and wrote him a letter while he was campaigning. Encourage the kids to write their own letters to President Biden.

The John F. Kennedy Library in Boston also remains closed but will hold a virtual version of its annual Presidents’ Day Family Festival on Feb. 15 and a host of other family activities throughout the year. You will also find a students’ section with picture book biographies of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline B. Kennedy. Here’s your chance to become a Kennedy-era space expert, and more.

A tip: The educators’ section is always a good bet at websites for presidential museums and National Park Service presidential historic homes and sites.

Two places you can actually visit this winter are Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home, and Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, both in Virginia, though there are strict COVID protocols in place (reduced capacity; masks required and social distancing).

Monticello offers a redesigned family experience with more outdoor offerings, including the four-mile Saunders-Monticello Trail with woodland paths and boardwalks. If you can’t visit in person, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, there are weekly Monticello livestreams with regular appearances by Thomas Jefferson and special family virtual tours (hear the stories of the nation’s founding from the perspective of the free and enslaved who lived on this working plantation or design your dream house, as Thomas Jefferson did).

The Mount Vernon website is also a great place for students to learn about George Washington’s presidency and the era in which he lived, including online games and interactives and the chance to meet people from the past and plenty of fun facts. (His false teeth weren’t wood but rather made of hippopotamus ivory.)

Thank George Washington for your February break; His February birthday was declared a federal holiday in 1885 and later morphed into Presidents’ Day.

Happy learning!

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The Kid’s Guide to Philadelphia, the 13th in the kid’s guide series, was published in 2020, with The Kid’s Guide to Camping coming in 2021.)