Arlington Students Study the Civil War on Wheels

Arlington fourth-grade students experienced an interactive Civil War exhibit brought right to their front door.

The Civil War 150 HistoryMobile, based in Richmond, rolled into Thomas Jefferson Middle School earlier this week.

“They’ve done a great job with engaging students,” said Diana Hasuly-Ackman, supervisor of social studies at Arlington Public Schools. “This is the time of year when they study the Civil War so the timing is just about right.”

The 53-foot trailer parked right in the school’s parking lot Monday through Wednesday, as students from around the county paid visits at predetermined times.

The trailer and staff travel around Virginia and the surrounding states nearly every week of the year, according to Rusty Nix, tour manager.

Inside the trailer, students first experience an interactive audio presentation.

“It puts you in the mood for what it would be like during the Civil War,” Nix said.

Students moved on to two more exhibit rooms that discussed slavery and another room about the home front, or what civilians had to do to survive the Civil War.

At least one student walked away invigorated by the exhibit.

"It's awesome," said one student, Peter, 10. "It's so big and it has real drama."

History is one of Peter's favorite subjects. "It teaches you about the past and how things were done in the olden days," he said.

The trailer started touring in 2006 as a multi-agency initiative of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, along with the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania National Military Park and the Virginia Historical Society. Find out more about the attraction.