Historical Train Tour Scavenger Hunt
We really want the kids to care more about living life than collecting things. So we have been trying to figure out how to keep Christmas fun but more about experiences than presents. So this year their big Christmas presents came in the form of a scavenger hunt to find out the adventures we have in store for 2026.
PART 1: FEBRUARY BREAK.
PART 1: FEBRUARY BREAK.
We really hate driving, but unfortunately America is lagging behind the rest of the world on large scale public transit. So we made the most of what's available and decided we would spend February break touring historical cities and sites via Amtrak.
NYC to see the Stonewall Inn, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
NYC to see the Stonewall Inn, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
D.C. to see the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWI Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean Memorial, FDR Memorial, MLK Jr. Memorial, Grant Memorial, National Archives, Air & Space Museum, Arlington Cemetery & Changing of the Guard at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington House, and Ford's Theatre.
Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, Ben Franklin Museum and the Magic Gardens.
After a month of planning/booking, we constructed a scavenger hunt.
Philadelphia to see the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Congress Hall, Ben Franklin Museum and the Magic Gardens.
After a month of planning/booking, we constructed a scavenger hunt.
Then I laid out each of the three cities we would visit, making each letter correspond with someone/somewhere/something related to the city. Cut the letters out for the kids to unscramble as bonus clues.
Then they had to go around the house finding and solving clues:
Once they solved all the clues, the prize at the end of the scavenger hunt was "trip bucks" (souvenir cash redeemable on the trip).
