For Immediate Release
June 1, 2006
Digital images available

Media Contact:
Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203
mwood@mountvernon.org

MOUNT VERNON, Va. – The Hands-on History Exhibit at George Washington’s Mount Vernon offers children fun activities while teaching about 18th-century life, daily from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m through September 4. Children of all ages can explore this activity area and learn about early-American life by carding and spinning wool, cross-mending artifacts, constructing wooden buckets, dressing up in colonial clothing, and playing colonial games such as hoops, darts, and graces. The “How Do You Measure Up to George Washington” exhibit features a life-size image of Washington, which allows children to measure-up to the first president!

At this site kids also experience what life was like for a soldier by crawling into a Revolutionary War tent and learn about camp. These young “soldiers” take on the life of an enlisted man serving under General Washington during the American Revolution and discover everyday objects used by the common soldier.

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Events, programs, and activities are subject to change. Public Information: 703-780-2000; 703-799-8697 (TDD); www.mountvernon.org Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens the most popular historic home in America. Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington’s place in history as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen.” Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, America’s oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853. A picturesque drive to the southern end of the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon is located just 16 miles from the nation’s capital. Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November – February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular admission rates: adults, $13.00; senior citizens, $12.00; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $6.00; and children under age 5, FREE. Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.