Planning a trip to the Museum with your family?  Here are 8 things at the Museum we think you will enjoy experiencing with your family!

1. Leatherneck Gallery
Upon entering the Museum, gaze up and take in the breathtaking view of Leatherneck Gallery. See historical aircraft and a WWII landing craft so close you could almost touch them.

2. Making Marines
Next, enter the Making Marines gallery where you’ll get a firsthand experience of what it takes to become a Marine. Here, family members can also test their strength on our pull up bar.

3. Chesty’s Dock
Sail on over to the Defending the New Republic gallery where children can enjoy interactive activities at Chesty’s Dock. Learn how to tie seaworthy knots and explore early Marine Corps history.

4. WWII Gallery
Take a stroll from early Marine Corps history to the WWII gallery and view our most treasured artifact, the Iwo Jima flag. Also, sit down in our WWII theater and take in a short Bugs Bunny cartoon.

5. Korean War Gallery
Next, venture into the Korean War gallery where kids can learn about Sgt Reckless, a decorated war horse, and see how you measure up to the 13 hands mare.

6. Vietnam War Gallery
Finish up with the Vietnam War gallery where you can feel the heat and wind upon exiting a real CH-46 helicopter landing atop Hill 881 south at Khe Sanh. 

7. Children’s Gallery
For the younger visitors, be sure to visit our Children’s Gallery where they can be immersed in Marine Corps history through interactive activities.
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8. Semper Fidelis Memorial Park
Have extra time? End the day with a stroll through Semper Fidelis Memorial Park or enjoy playtime at the playground.

Extra Info:
Food
Need a break during your visit? The Museum has two restaurants located on the second deck: Devil Dog Diner, a cafeteria-style restaurant, and Tun Tavern, a restaurant fashioned after the legendary tavern where the Corps was founded. Have your own snacks with you? Families are invited to use the picnic tables in the playground area next to the parking lot. (Food and drinks are not allowed in the galleries.)

Events
Every month the Museum offers family-friendly events such as themed Family Days, Preschool Playdates as well as annual events such as Dog Days at the Museum and a summer concert series.  Check out our Calendar of Events for more information.

Restrooms
All of our restrooms have baby changing tables and oversized accessible stalls. On the first deck, restrooms are located at the entrance and next to the Children's Gallery. On the second deck, we have restrooms near the restaurants, and two family restrooms located in the Medal of Honor lobby. Also on the second deck, there are restrooms and an additional family restroom located in the hallway to the Final Phase galleries overlook. 

Admission to the Museum is free and events are open to the public.

By Jennifer Castro, Cultural & Material History Curator

There are few things more American than Marines, baseball, and baseball cards. An artifact in the collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps encompasses all three. This unique artifact documents the cultural connection between a career Woman Marine and sports – a baseball card of Helen Hannah Campbell, who was a chaperone with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1947-1951.

Helen Hannah Campbell enlisted in the Marine Corps on 12 October 1943, initiating a 32-year military career that would span three wars and many duty stations across the United States, from California to Virginia. After training at the Aviation Supply Quartermaster School, she served primarily in administrative capacities. In 1946, at the end of her initial period of enlistment, she joined the Marine Corps Reserves and became involved in baseball.
 
Campbell’s father was professional baseball player James Harrison “Truck” Hannah. His 30-year career included a three-season stint with the New York Yankees from 1918-1920 playing alongside baseball great Babe Ruth. This link to the world of baseball led Campbell in 1947 to become a chaperone in the All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), the organization that inspired the movie A League of Their Own.
 
The AAGPBL was a professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley in 1943 to prevent the possible collapse of major league baseball parks around the United States while players were serving overseas. After recruiting his players, Wrigley was determined to make them into the ideal “all-American girls.” He emphasized not only the physical training required for the sport, but also training in dress and conduct that would maintain the “squeaky clean” image of the league. Spring training included all-day workouts that were followed by “charm school” in the evenings, where players learned how to put on makeup and how to behave with a date. Players had to adhere to strict “Rules of Conduct.” To ensure they acted like ladies on and off the field, Wrigley hired chaperones for each team. These chaperones traveled with their teams and acted as mothers, nurses, communicators, counselors, disciplinarians, and trainers.

Campbell was hired as a chaperone for the Muskegon Lassies and remained with them from 1947-1951. She was on duty 24/7 as she traveled with them, arranging housing, enforcing curfews and dress codes, and ensuring the care and well-being of her players. Campbell left the league in 1951 when she was recalled to active duty during the Korean War. She helped maintain both the woman Marine and AAGPBL legacy by serving on the AAGPBL Historical Society board and her enthusiastic work with the Woman Marines Association. Not only had she joined the Marines to maintain military operations at home when men were needed on the front lines, she also helped preserve America’s favorite pastime.

The baseball card commemorates Campbell’s time in the AAGPBL. She is pictured on the front in her AAGPBL uniform. The reverse provides a brief history of the league, the role of chaperones, and a short biography of Campbell highlighting her career accomplishments.