Tryon for Kids

History can be fun for all ages!

Tryon Palace is fun to visit at any age!  Children love exploring our gardens and visiting with costumed interpreters.  The Palace gardens offer many paths, adorned with beautiful flowers and statues to discover.  The Latham Garden is nicknamed “the maze” after its symmetrical pattern of pathways. The military encampment on the Palace grounds is very popular with our young visitors who enjoy watching the soldiers cook over an open fire or shot a musket. At the North Carolina History Center, the Pepsi Family Center challenges imagination and learning as they travel back in time to an eastern North Carolina coastal village in the 1830s.  This exhibit was designed for kids and their families to interact together and learn history through hands-on experiences.  Activities include working as a crew member on the SS Snapdragon to working in a turpentine distillery, cooking, and much more.

At times, Tryon Palace offers special programs and activities for youth of all ages.  Our Garden Sprouts program for pre-school and young elementary age children will engage these eager learners about how the garden nourishes us and animals, with outside activities such as scavenger hunts.  Older children can participate in a more advanced garden program like the Saplings.  

Tryon Palace offers summer camps such as the Fife and Drum Corps Camp where music and history are blended and participants learn the basics of reading music, playing scales, and marching alongside with Tryon Palace’s Fife and Drum Corps.

In July, there is Glorious Fourth when they can witness a reading of the Declaration of Independence and watch the Fife and Drum Corps parade, as well as hear the roar of musket firing in celebration of freedom. In December, there is Candlelight, a holiday event that is fun for all ages; with magic acts, circus acts, Fife and Drum performances, a tour of the fabulously decorated Palace, and a spectacular black powder fireworks display at the end of the evening.  

Please check our Calendar for any upcoming programs.