Why Take Your Children to Visit Their State Capital

You might not guess why you should take your kids to their state capital right away. Your own memory of some overly disciplined field trip with your own grade school class might have convinced you never to return to the state capital. Or perhaps you have an aversion to all things that involve tours with children. Either way, turning away from the chance to take your kids to their state capital may mean that you and they are missing out on learning a lot about government, past and present. As a parent you may also be passing on the kind of adventure that will allow you to share some of your own deeply held values

It really doesn't matter what state you live in, there is a state capital to be visited in every one of our fifty states and all of them have unique features that a visit there will reveal. For example one might think that the state capital of the huge state of California would be the also huge city of Los Angeles but a visit to the state capital in California would in fact take you to the somewhat smaller city of Sacramento. On the east coast going to the state capital of Rhode Island would take you to Providence and to the state capitol building with the highest dome in the country after the U. S. Capitol building in Washington, D. C.

Whether its Charleston, West Virginia, or Albany, New York or Santa Fe, New Mexico each capital will offer you and your children a chance to see where laws are made and state business transacted. Each capital is also filled with all the local history and state lore that you can pack into one days visit.

If the legislature is in session you may have the chance to see and hear lawmakers from around the state discussing a state centered issue, balconies are usually open to the public and free of admission charges. While you probably won't have the chance to see the governor or other state wide officials you may have the opportunity to see where they work. Better luck may await your attempts to visit a state representative or assemblyman, especially if you make a simple call to his or her office in advance and ask to visit the office of your own representative. Don't be reluctant to place the call, even if your rep is not available you may find that there are staffers in place to help visitors navigate the most interesting areas in the state capitol building.

As noted above by visiting the state capital you won't necessarily be visiting the largest city in the state but you will be visiting a city that is often the center of state history. You are likely to find historic libraries, museums and gardens that can enrich and give variety to your visit. Again calling ahead or going on line and checking out what your capital city offers can help you and your children to tailor a day that best suits you all.

Perhaps one of the best reasons to take your children to their state capital is that such a trip provides you with an opportunity to share some history with your kids and maybe learn some new things about your state government together. It doesn't need to be a time for you to be the tour guide. It can be just as educational to let the questions that your children might ask lead the way to discoveries you share.

Approaching a visit with your kids to their state capital that is free flowing in this way may well open chances for your kids to discover a window into important values that you would like to share. They may never have considered whether or not their parents had a reverence for history, took a joy in learning not just in teaching and had their own understated love for their country. A visit with your kids to their state capital can give you an opportunity to view important people and places in the history of their state and that's important. But ideally such a visit will also allow for a subtle sharing of values as well, and at no extra cost.

Sources: www.geography.about.com