Homeschool: House on the Rock Field Trip

Posted by My Heart Song

7/20/2011

While we were in Wisconsin last week, we took a day for a "field trip" to a nearby attraction - The House on the Rock. It'd been 10+ years since my husband and I had visited last and it was a first time visit for our kids. You basically go on a self-guided tour that takes you 4-5 hours when all is said and done. There are a few places to eat along the way (pricey, of course) so you could spend the entire day there. This place has tons of different things to see.

There is a museum area dedicated to the life of the creator, Alex Jordan. Then you move on to the tour of the original "House on the Rock" itself. It is a house, built on/in rock. It's unlike anything you've ever seen. Unique in every sense of the word!
After the house itself, the tour has more of a museum feel. You go through the "Streets of Yesterday" as you walk along a cobblestone path and look into store fronts from around 1900. There's a carriage house, an eye doctor, a jail, a regular home, etc. It's beautiful and very authentic, making you truly feel like you stepped back in time.
The world's largest carousel is at the House on the Rock. It's unbelievable in size, with over 20,000 lights alone! My daughter was quite disappointed that you just watch it go around and cannot ride on it!
Perhaps the most famous part of the House on the Rock is the "infinity room." This is a room that is narrow, but is over 215 feet long and has over 3,000 windows on the sides. It's a breath-taking view, as you look out over the valley below. You are literally above the treetops. There is a window in the floor as you near the end of the room, allowing you to look down at the trees beneath you. You can feel the slight movement of the room, swaying in the wind... if you can stomach a trip all the way out there! In this picture are my husband and daughter at the end of the room, in front of the window area that allows you to look down.
There are beautifully landscaped gardens throughout the tour. You can see the waterfall behind my husband and son in this picture.
And more water and lily pads in this picture with my kids on the bridge. Since this is the House on the Rock, there are huge rocks throughout. Of course, my kids wanted to sit or stand on all of them!

In addition to all of this, there are huge collections of doll houses, swords and guns, crowns and jewels, a huge sea exhibit with replicas of the Titanic and other ships, and many mechanical instruments that are amazing to see but difficult to describe.

The House on the Rock gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from our family. We enjoyed it. It is pricey, but can last all day if you have the time to take it all in. To see more pictures of what they have to offer, check out their website here.If you ever get to Southwestern Wisconsin, it's a great place to visit!