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A costumed interpreter at Jamestown Settlement. Photo © 2009-10 Sean Terretta" |
More than anywhere, it helps you visualize what life must have been like for John Smith, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe.
And it's not what Disney taught us. One fact we learned during the tour a few years ago still shocks us to this day (more on that in a minute).
First the indoor stuff...
The indoor exhibits set the stage. Start off with an introductory film on the colony's beginnings. Then walk through halls featuring dioramas of what American Indian camps would have looked like before the colonists arrived.
(Dioramas are recreated scenes--life-sized or miniature-- of hiistorical scenes. Afterwards, you can visit an English street scene, and view exhibits on tobacco and other crops so crucial to the colonists' lives.
To be honest, younger kids may well find this a bit boring. Just tell them to be patient, it's almost...
...time to play Colonists and Indians...
Outside you can walk through a recreated Powhatan Indian Village. You can see how many people fit inside a wigwam. Talk with costumed soldiers, American Indians, and mob-capped ladies (they call them "costumed interpreters") who'll show you how to do daily chores like grind corn. They may even teach you a little dance.
A short distance is away is what many kids enjoy most: a recreation of the wooden stockade built by the colonists when they arrived. In between defending the fort against attackers, kids can try on armor, play colonial games, and watch blacksmiths and carpenters do their work.
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The Susan Constant replica. Photo © 2009-10 Sean Terretta" |
Now for our favorite, shocking part...
Climb aboard replicas of the ships the colonists sailed on to the New World..the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery.
Years of watching pirate and swashbuckling movies can't prepare you for the true size of these boats. They're TINY! Far smaller than you'd imagine after seeing spacious cabins in the movies.
Conditions must have been unbelievably cramped, cold and smelly. (They would have been even worse on slave ships a century later.) It makes you realize what a huge (and dangerous) step it was for the early settlers to come here.
What you'll See at Jamestown Settlement
If you have the time, we recommend that you buy a Combination Ticket (see below). Plan a full day and visit Jamestown Settlement in the morning, have lunch at Pierce's BBQ in Williamsburg, then spend the afternoon at Yorktown Victory Center.
Can you do it all in one day? It really depends on what kind of museum-goer you are. Since we have younger kids with a limited attention span, or family can do it in one full day.
But if your kids are older, or if you're the type who likes to carefully peruse all the exhibits, and experience each and every activity, you're better off spreading the itinerary out over two days.
Is the Settlement worth the admission price?
You bet.
Jamestown Settlement really brings history alive. Crawling into the cramped hold of a ridiculously small ship, or seeing a costumed "colonist" prep and fire a musket paints a picture no guidebook can describe.
Admission
Jamestown Settlement is open daily 9 am-5 pm (9 am-6 pm from June 15-August 15). Allow two or more hours to visit.
Admission: Adults - $14; ages 6-12 - $6.50; under 6 are free.
Jamestown Settlement also has a sister museum-- the Yorktown Victory Center, an interpretive attraction that showcases the Revolutionary War and the decisive American victory at Yorktown Battlefield.
If you're going to Yorktown Victory Center too, buy a Combination Ticket for $19.25 per adult and $9.25 per child. (Savings: $6 per adult and $2.25 per child.) It gives you one-time admission to each museum and may be used on different days.
You can also get an American Heritage Pass offering unlimited admission to the Settlement and the Yorktown Victory Center for one year from date of activation. Cost is $35 per adult and $17.50 kids 6-15.
Directions to Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown, Virginia, is one point on the "Historic Triangle" it forms with Williamsburg and Yorktown. Just a ten-mile drive along the scenic Colonial Parkway from Williamsburg, it's also a short drive from Yorktown.
In summer, you may want to skip the traffic and take the free Historic Triangle Shuttle bus, which provides service between Jamestown, Yorktown, and the Colonial Williamsburg Visitor Center. It's available every 30 minutes 9 a.m - 3:30 p.m. April 1 to October 31.
Directions
Jamestown is located about a 30-minute drive west from Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, about 1-1/4 hour west of Norfolk International Airport, and about 60 minutes east of Richmond International Airport.
Here's a link to a Google Jamestown map.
Jamestown Settlement is a short drive from I-64. If you're coming from Richmond on I-64, head east and take Exit 234 (Lightfoot). Make a right turn onto Route 199 and follow it for 8 miles, then turn right at the second stop light onto Jamestown Road (Route 31). Go about 4 miles south on Jamestown Road.
Turn left at the sign onto Route 359. You'll be making a right into the museum parking lot. There is no charge for parking.
If you're traveling from the Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Hampton area, head west on I-64 and then take Exit 242A. Follow Route 199 for five miles, then make a left at the fourth stop light onto Jamestown Road. Then go 4 miles south until you see the signs.
Jamestown Settlement address: 2218 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg. Jamestown Settlement phone number: (757) 253-4838. Jamestown Settlement GPS coordinates: 37.225069,-76.786218
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