Wilbur Wright Birthplace Field Trip

"I can remember when Wilbur and I could hardly wait for morning to come to get at something that interested us. That’s happiness!"  –Orville Wright 

I just love that quote (I saw it while on the field trip), so I had to post it!  I wonder how many of our children have something they can’t wait to get at every morning.  Something to think about.  🙂

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Sometimes you just aren’t sure what a field trip will be like.  I was unsure about this one.  We had to travel over an hour, and I just didn’t know if Wilbur Wright’s birthplace was going to keep 15 preschoolers & elementary students engaged.   BUT…it was fantastic.  I can’t even begin to share it all with you.  I think the tour was about 2 hours long.  

First we started outside where our fantastic tour guide showed off some of his model plane collection.  

They had signs posted to show how far each of the first few flights went.

Next, we went through the museum.  We learned about the lives of the Wrights, watched a movie about the first flight, and saw an exact replica of that historic plane that made it into the air in 1903.  Elijah even got to practice steering it. 

Then we went through a make shift workshop/sleeping/eating area similar to what the Wright Brothers constructed so that they would have a place to work on parts of the plane (only one wing would fit in the building at a time).  They made this because they were tired of being eaten alive by various bugs!

We also got to visit a "town" that was set up to portray the early 1900s.  There was a school, general store, dress shop, barber shop, and (of course) Wright’s Bicycle Shop and print shop. 

After we were done in the museum, we wandered over to the house for a tour.  We also got to go through the outbuildings– the barn, the smokehouse, etc.   

After a picnic lunch, the kids were treated (by their mothers) with some simple flying sticks.    Can you see them in the second picture?  🙂

Completely worthwhile.  Loved this field trip!