Recently we attended a field trip with friends in Wolfeboro, NH to an amazing collection of World War Two memorabilia! It was full of both wartime vehicles as well as home front artifacts to give a peak into life in the 1940s. But before you go I have one main piece of advice. Just like Loose Lips Sink Ships, don’t stay silent at your visit of the Wright Museum of WWII; ask questions, listen to stories, and interact with the exhibits!
Don’t miss all of our New England transportation field trip guides!
We met a volunteer who was in his 90s and told us about his experiences in Korea and showed us around the big room that housed a tank and other military vehicles.
As a former high school history teacher and someone that has a specialized focus on the WWII home front, this museum was especially exciting and it did not disappoint! The format of how you walk through the exhibits is really well done and immersive to allow children and adults alike the ability to imagine life during the Second World War.
We met a group of other homeschoolers at the museum and we started out in a back room where we watched a short video introducing the war, the home front, and the effort to capture the era into a meaningful experience at the Wright Museum.
It was an insightful video showing just how much life was changing for the average American during the war years. It covered everything from the war itself to the inventions happening during the time and using DDT among other topics that in hindsight were moving life in the wrong direction.
walking through the first part of the museum, one gets a feel for real life. Everything from a dentist’s chair and an ice cream parlor from the time period to an entire typical living room were very meticulously setup.
My children enjoyed the telephones they could pick up to listen to more about the exhibits they were viewing. Kind of like an immersive audiobook, they were both looking at and listening to what they were learning.
After the home front room, there is a long hallway. I loved this so much. It was set up like you were walking through a timeline.
Each room off the main line was for each year during the war. Basic news scrolled across a digital ticker display. The news of the year, what the average Dow was that year in and stock market, and what things cost or were worth that year were displayed on the wall.
Each room was filled with primary sources like LIFE magazines form that year and propaganda posters, Small screens and computers were set up to view videos from the time period and cases were filled with models and artifacts.
Key topics to plan to talk about at the Wright Museum of WWII
- Be ready to discuss primary and secondary sources and artifacts. This museum is perfect for showing this because of how it is set up and the variety of artifacts they have accumulated. Children often neglect to see how a physical object can be a primary source; however when placing them in front of a living room from the 1940s, it helps them connect life at the time, giving them a different understanding than what might have been imagined in their head,
- Discuss the influence of propaganda on American culture.
- Compare and contrast costs during the war. How did the war impact families at home?
- Find at least two volunteers to talk to. Have your children ask them what their favorite part of the museum is and why. (A friend very familiar with the museum directed me to “The Four Chaplains “ painting that was an incredibly moving story that I would have absolutely missed without someone pointing it out)
- Analyze the messaging of at least 5 propaganda posters. What was the key message? Why was it important? How did it progress the war effort.
- Apply your knowledge of the WWII effort and home front to today. Do you think society would come together like it did in the 40s? Why or why not?
Wright Museum Field Trip Prep and definitions to know and apply
- Propaganda
- Home front
- Rationing
- Victory Garden
- Discuss how the United States of America’s involvement in the war was the end to isolationism and how that has impacted modern history and their lives today..
- Spend a week or so before going to the museum working through The American Homefront and WWII put out by the National Park Service.
- After visiting, utilize the Wright Museum’s online catalogue.
- Download lesson plans for children as young as 4th grade via their website educator section.
Other Destination and Resources to consider:
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