We enjoyed the Pilgrim Museum which is perfect for our aged kids. They give the kids a 6 page scavenger hunt to complete while going through the rooms. There are artifacts that were brought over on the Mayflower, from the early settlement, and of the Native Americans who befriended the Pilgrims. The boys enjoyed the scavenger hunt and at the end were rewarded with a postcard of their choice and a bookmark.
I learned a lot about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims from a 15 minute video that Brennan and I watched. I didn't realize half of the Mayflower passengers did not make it from December to the spring. I also didn't realize that the original destination for the Mayflower was Virginia. As this was the only colony England would allow English citizens to set up settlements, by deciding to land at Plymouth Rock was an illegal act. The Mayflower was 200 miles off course so the captain had to make this decision. The Mayflower Compact, the passengers deciding to work together in this settlement instead of splitting up and some citizens traveling to Virginia after docking, was a result of this decision to go to Plymouth Rock.
We also saw the Mayflower II - an exact replica of the original ship.
And we saw Plymouth Rock. It's been moved (and broken) over the last 400 years and is now housed in a portico where everyone can enjoy it. You can't tell from my photo but it's been engraved with "1620". It's not a large rock, but a nice memorial to the Mayflower passengers nonetheless.
If you're ever in Boston, Plymouth is a nice side trip - only an hour or so south!
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