Gettysburg Day Trip with Kids: Park Ranger Program & Children of Gettysburg 1863 Museum
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases — because therapy bills are real and they definitely don't pay themselves. Everything I recommend is something I actually use. No filler links, ever. Thanks for being here!
What a wonderful day in Gettysburg, PA! We are fortunate enough to travel to Gettysburg as a day trip. We participated in one of the Park Ranger educational programs with our homeschool co-op, then headed to the Children of Gettysburg 1863 Museum.
These Park Ranger Programs have been excellent! I highly recommend getting a group together to experience one ... or several. There are lessons to complete with your group prior to your tour date - and let me say they are worth doing. They add to the educational (and bonding) experiences so much. We chose the Join the Army: Company K program and Ranger Sanders was AMAZING. While all of my kids enjoyed this program, the activities leading up to and during the lesson were geared toward my 11 & 13 year olds. My 5 year old had a great time participating when she could and quietly foraged for fallen leaves the rest of the time.
After our Park Ranger Program we headed to the Children of Gettysburg 1863 Museum. We parked in the small lot behind the building and enjoyed our packed lunches before we headed in. It’s a good idea to pre-purchase your tickets online, especially if you’re in a big group. The museum employees like to have a heads up that a large group is coming, as they walk through the small (but full) museum with your group, answering questions and pointing out interesting exhibits for your age group. When you enter the museum, each student gets to pick a character to follow throughout their time there. Each of these characters were real children who lived in Gettysburg at the time of the battle. During your visit, your student will find out where their character lived in town, what they did to help the war effort, and where they were during the battle. Each room of the museum is a different setting, including a “cellar” where the children would have hid themselves as well as any union soldier in need of refuge. The museum was best suited for our 5 & 11 year olds. Our 13 year old said she still enjoyed experiencing the museum with her younger siblings and friends, even though she didn’t really learn anything new. Did I mention we're history nerds?
We ended our day by getting ice cream at Cone Sweet Cone, which is right next to the museum. It was the perfect pick-me-up before getting back in the van to head home!
Accessibility
The Park Ranger Programs vary in accessibility. The program our group chose included hiking that was not suitable for a wheelchair. Because our child is ambulatory we arranged the time (and days) around this program to suit her needs for rest times, allowing her to participate in the typical structure of the program. You can request other accommodations for any of the programs, just contact the park! In our experience they are friendly, easy to work with, and want everyone to have a safe, enjoyable and educational experience.
The Children of Gettysburg 1863 Museum has a wheelchair accessible entrance, parking lot and seating areas, but does not have a wheelchair accessible bathroom. While the museum is wheelchair accessible, it’s a small, historic building and could be a tight squeeze especially when crowded, depending on the mobility device being used. Because this is a children's museum the displays and interactive activities are low to the ground and easy to see and access. We had so much fun exploring and learning here, we hope you do, too!
Cone Sweet Cone has an accessible walk-up window that allows you to order and receive your treats without having to navigate the inside of the shop. There is also accessible seating on the porch and picnic tables in the grassy area between the museum and Cone Sweet Cone.
See more photos and a video of our trip on The Free Ranging Homebodies Instagram account.
Happy Adventuring!