When we entered the front garden I was taken back. I forgot how beautiful it was there. Along with the amazing history of the buildings, they have beautiful grounds with lush gardens, and koi ponds with huge koi that come up right to the surface to greet you (but don't touch!).
The mission is an excellent resource for 4th graders (typically the grade where California history is taught), however, other grades can benefit from the rich history lessons offered there. Children can catch a glimpse of life before electricity. The mission has done a wonderful job setting up learning stations around the grounds. Each adult receives an audio tour for free. They give you a listening device. As you get to each station you key in the number and you are given a wonderful narrative on what had taken place at that location. They also have an audio tour for kids which is $2 extra. We did not use those during this visit. Throughout the mission the kids could look into rooms and see what they would have looked like hundreds of years ago. They had one room for the kids to see the brands for each of the 21 California Missions and do a crayon rubbing of their favorites. In this same room they had these wonderful boards full of information on each of these missions. We were able to explore all over the grounds!
The most exciting part for me and the kids was the new Lewis and Clark exhibit. This exhibit is trully etraordinary. When you first walk in you are greeted with a wall of black and white photos which depict Lewis and Clark's journey through modern day pictures. This was very interesting to the adults :) The next area you enter is a fantastic journey with Lewis and Clark. The exhibit was child friendly, which parents love! They could look, touch, pick up and play with things. Children were able to use feather quill pens to sign their name to the expedition book. They then could dress the part of an explorer. From there they were introduced to Sacagawea and the native american tribes Lewis and Clark met on their travels. There was even a baby doll in a papoose for children to carry around. At each stop in the exhibit they had magnetic drawing boards with a map of the US, where kids could trace the route of Lewis and Clark thus far in the exhibit. At the very end the children were able to spin the "Wheel of Misery". They spun this wheel to learn their fate on the trail. The bad fortune ranged from a snake bite to death from a ruptured appendix. While a bit dark, it did help the students to see the many trials explorers faced. While most children in California learn about Lewis and Clark and the Westward Movement in 5th grade, this exhibit is excellent for all ages!
For our 4th grade student we gave her a passport ($2 at the front window). She loved this as it symbolized her 4th grade work. We bought all of the kids small leather necklaces with the San Juan Capistrano brand on them ($2 at the front window). We had a fantastic time and are looking forward to going there again!
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