Part II: Pearl Harbor- Guest Post from "500 Places With Kids" Blog

Visiting the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu allows children to understand how and why the United States entered World War II. But to gain a complete picture of America’s involvement, stroll over to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park.

For a small fee, you can take a self-guided tour of the “Pearl Harbor Avenger”- so named because the submarine was christened on December 7, 1942, one year after the Pearl Harbor attack. Inside, kids gain an understanding of what it was like to live and fight in a submarine during the war.

And just when you’re starting to feel claustrophobic at the tight quarters, you can stroll on deck and pretend to shoot down enemy planes at the gun stations.

Once you’re done visiting the USS Bowfin (which sank over 44 enemy ships during her tour), head over to the Submarine Museum for an in-depth explanation of the importance of submarine warfare in the Pacific.

Also high on the “must-do” list if you’re visiting Pearl Harbor for the day is a stop at the Pacific Aviation Museum. Reachable only via shuttle bus from the Visitor Center, this museum (located within a hangar) contains restored planes that flew during World War II in the Pacific.

Combining these two sites along with visits to the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri condenses World War II into an easy to understand (and fun) history lesson for the kids.

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