Plan on Pennsylvania for Family Fun and Learning (continued)

6) Washington Crosses the Delaware – Every year on Christmas Day (and also for a dress rehearsal on the second Sunday in December) Revolutionary War uniformed reenactors cross the Delaware River in wooden boats to boldly attack Hessian troops. Washington Crossing Historic Park also has numerous Family Programs year-round, cooking programs, farm demonstrations and a summer history camp.

7) Laurel Highlands – Southeast of Pittsburgh, this pretty part of Pennsylvania has attractions that run the gamut from the three miles of natural passages in the state’s largest cave, Laurel Caverns, to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic home built over a creek, Fallingwater (plus two other Wright homes in the region.) There are numerous covered bridges using a variety of construction techniques, several historic roads including part of the first transcontinental highway, the Fort Necessity National Battlefield from the French and Indian Wars, the Johnstown Flood (1889) Museum and the Mountain Playhouse, which is the state’s oldest professional resident summer theater and performs in a 200 year-old grist mill.

8) Longwood Gardens – Thanks to the largesse of Pierre S. du Pont of DuPont Chemical, visitors can wander 1050 acres of plant life and imaginative exhibits. Pick up a special Kid’s Map and Guide at the entrance, and don’t miss Wednesday’s Kid’s Garden Adventures, with plant-related craft activities. There is an Indoor Children’s Garden with a bamboo maze, 17 fountains, water curtains and secret coves. In summer, finish the day with Family Ice Cream Concerts and a nighttime lighted fountain show.

9) Ride the Rails – Well-maintained historic steam engine railroad trains dot the state. The Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton has a working Locomotive Repair Shop, full-day train excursions to Moscow, Tobyhanna and the Delaware Water Gap, short rides around the Site on the Scranton Limited and the big annual steam locomotive celebration, the Lackawanna Railfest. The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg is more focused on historic trains that operated in the state; there are over 100 mid-19^th and 20^th century locomotives and cars, with demonstrations and education programs.

10) The Franklin Institute – Ben Franklin’s curiosity and love of tinkering are honored at the Philadelphia-based Institute. Scientific objects that belonged to the famous statesman and inventor are on display in Memorial Hall (including his electrostatic machine and an odometer that he used to measure Philadelphia postal routes.) Never stuck in the past, the facility also provides insight into modern science and technology. Sir Isaac’s Loft, for example, combines art and science, showing how the laws of physics in action can result in beautiful patterns. Exhibits on aviation, astronomy, the human body, Franklin’s unique glass armonica musical instrument and a summertime-only outdoor high-tech playground keep kids enthralled.

11) Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life – Travel through thousands of years of time; from 16,000 years ago with the early American inhabitants who lived at the Rockshelter archeological site (the covered site preserves resident tools and campfire areas) to the Meadowcroft Village recreation of 19^th century rural life, with costumed interpreters, a blacksmith shop, a barber shop and a schoolhouse.