The thrill of Thoreau

(pat greenhouse/globe staff/file 2008)

WHO: Globe Style editor Hayley Kaufman; her husband, Chris; and kids Nate, 5, and Rachel, 2

WHAT: The Concord Museum

My children are big fans of the Henry picture books by D.B. Johnson. In the enchanting series, Henry is a bear whose life mirrors that of Henry David Thoreau, naturalist, simple-living advocate, and author of "Walden," among other works.

Like his namesake, the bear goes adventuring in the woods, builds a small cabin by Walden Pond, treks to Fitchburg, and refuses to pay his taxes, to protest slavery. We've taken the kids to see the replica of Thoreau's cabin and the ruins of the original on the far side of the pond. But we'd never been to the Concord Museum, home to many of the author's personal effects.

There's a ton of other fascinating stuff there, too. A re-creation of Ralph Waldo Emerson's study, a parchment copy of the Declaration of Independence, one of the two lanterns that signaled Paul Revere that the British were coming.

The kids had a blast at the museum, though Rachel was a bit of a menace, jumping up on the displays and wanting to touch all the antique furniture.

The museum has compiled a list of items for kids to look for as they buzz around, a sort of historical scavenger hunt, which Nate enjoyed for a while. He really liked seeing the swords and cannonballs and powder horns, while Rachel was quite taken with an oil painting of the tiny Annie Hosmer. "She's a baby just like me!" she crowed, a little too loudly. And seeing Thoreau's small green writing desk, which looks exactly as it does in one of Johnson's books, was just plain cool.

Upstairs, near the end of the tour, there's a small room with picture books, old style wooden toys, and a nifty stereoscope. It's not a lot, but it's amazing how entertained kids can be with a few curiosities.

The next day, Nate spent a bit of the afternoon pretending to be Thoreau. It didn't last long, but it was a welcome break from Batman.

Tickets: $10 for adults, $5 kids 6-17, under 6 free. Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday 1-4 p.m. (Extended hours begin in April.) Visit www.concordmuseum.org for details. 200 Lexington Road, Concord.