School Is the Worst Place to Learn History

How to turn your family travels into stories that teach, inspire, and build lasting memories..

“Where are we going?” my kids asked.
“Some old ruins,” I said.
“Cool. Were there pirates?”

That’s how it starts.
Not with a lecture. Not with a textbook.
With curiosity, questions, and a story waiting to be uncovered.

Why History Matters More on the Road

When we think about what kids learn in school, history is often one of the hardest subjects to connect with. Names, dates, battles, treaties…it can all feel distant.

But bring your kids to the Colosseum…
Walk through a medieval village in France…
Stand beneath the bullet holes in a WWII resistance hideout…

Suddenly, it’s not just history. It’s real.

Entering Mont Saint-Michel for an overnight stay.

Travel Makes History Tangible

We remember what we experience.
It’s one thing to hear about the Roman Empire.
It’s another to walk on the same stones they laid 2,000 years ago.

You don’t forget the story of Anne Frank when you’ve seen the tiny space where she hid.
You don’t forget the power of civil rights when you’ve stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial or visited Selma.
You don’t forget searching for, and finding, shrapnel from World War II in the French countryside.

And your kids? They’re absorbing it all.

That’s a kind of education no classroom can replicate.

Learning about U.S. history in Washington D.C.

But Here’s the Problem

Travel is fast. It’s chaotic.
Families are busy juggling directions, meals, meltdowns, and museum tickets.

Even when we want to teach our kids something meaningful, it’s hard to slow down long enough to make it stick.
We breeze past the plaques. We skip the story for the photo op. We say, “I’ll explain it later.”

And just like that, the memory fades.

The Opportunity We Often Miss

Every trip is a chance to plant a seed:

• Why was this wall built?

• Who lived here before us?

• What changed because someone stood up and said “no”?

These aren’t just vacation questions.
They’re the start of who our kids become.
It’s how they see the world, their values, their empathy, their sense of wonder.

And you don’t need a PhD or a printed guidebook to teach it.

You just need a little curiosity and the right tools to bring the past to life.

5 Ways to Make History Stick While Traveling

1. Ask “I wonder” questions.
   Skip the facts. Try:

   • “I wonder how people stayed warm here.”

   • “I wonder what a kid your age did all day.”

2. Let your kid be the guide.
   Give them a map or brochure and say, “You lead the way.” They’ll engage differently when they’re in charge.

3. Find one story.
   Find one compelling human moment to focus on…a letter, a symbol, a mystery. These are the stories that stick with them.

4. Act it out.
   Reenact a historical moment with silly drama. Let them be a pharaoh or a freedom fighter. Don’t be afraid to be goofy.

5. Journal the story, not the stop.
   Instead of writing “We went to the ruins,” try:

   • “We climbed into a Roman amphitheater today. I stood where gladiators once waited. It gave me chills.”

   • Or: “There was a round, smooth indentation in the stone floor of the old cathedral. It was formed by an ancient ritual a thousand years ago. Students would bump their heads here as a rite of passage. It’s hard to imagine how many heads touched this spot to leave a dent.”

Easy Travel Journal Prompts for Kids

If your kids keep a travel journal, here’s some prompts you can use to help inspire them:

• What was the most surprising thing you learned today?

• If you lived here 500 years ago, what would your life be like?

• What do you think people will remember about this place 500 years from now?

• What was your favorite thing you saw? Why?

• If you could talk to someone from this place’s past, what would you ask them?

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Want help turning your family’s travels into a storybook of learning and memories?
DuckAbroad gives you kid-friendly history, fun journal prompts, and collectible stamps for the places you explore—so you don’t just go there… you remember it together.