The National Museum of The Marine Corps

Jet hanging from the ceiling

Hey y'all! I've missed you! I've been so busy, but hope to visit with you soon. Since the conference I just attended was about 20 miles or so from Washington, DC, I decided to take the family with me. It was a homeschool field trip for us and what a great place for one! We saw so much, I'm going to break it down into different posts.

Mitchell standing in front of the National Museum of the Marine Corps

We had about a 7 hour drive up there, but we stopped on the way in Quantico, VA, and went to The National Museum of The Marine Corps. It's right off of I-95, so it's really easy to get to. Admission and parking are both free, so that is a huge plus!

Mitchell in front of a tank scene

Let me tell you, this is a wonderful museum. We were welcomed upon entry and told a few facts about the museum. We were told everything, except one thing, I believe, was equipment actually used by Marines. Also, each face used on the Marines in the exhibits, actually belonged to a real Marine. How cool!

Some of the weapons of war

The museum is beautiful in design and huge, but well laid out. You start out in 1775 learning how Marines defended the republic and you continue on up until Vietnam. There is also an exhibit called A Marine's Life In Afghanistan.

Scene from a war

There are realistic looking scenes of warfare and artifacts including weaponry, vehicles, medals of honor, and much more.

Fragment of the Pentagon from 9/11

While we were there we saw the 9/11- We Remember exhibit. It included a beam from the World Trade Center and a piece of the building from the Pentagon.

Beam from the World Trade Center

You were able to touch these and when I did, I was taken back to that fateful day and reminded how thankful I am to those who put their lives on the line to defend our country!

Mitchell leaving his memory

There was a wall of Memories where you were invited to leave your own memory of 9/11. Mitchell decided to write something. He was only 4 when it happened but he has learned more and more each year about what happened.

9/11 Memory Wall

The Gallery is amazing with aircraft hanging from the ceiling and beautiful granite walls with famous quotes from Marines.

Plane hanging from ceiling

I loved this quote:

Quote on the wall of the museum

There were lots of interactive things for kids to do. My 4 year old loved pretending to be a marine and dressing up in different outfits. He also liked the phones and he loved to pretend to "talk" to people on them.