Pilgrim Hall Museum

A visit to the Pilgrim Hall Museum (75 Court St., 508/746-1620, www.pilgrimhall.org, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. daily Feb.–Dec., $7 adults, $6 seniors, $4 children 5–17, free children under 5) can be as educational as one to Plimoth Plantation, if a tad bit less fun. Exhibits include displays of artifacts and possessions of the Pilgrims (aka Separatists) from both England and Holland, explanations detailing their transatlantic sojourn, the first contact with the Wampanoags, and accounts of the first Thanksgiving.

National Monument to the Forefathers

In honor of Miles Standish, William Bradford, and the rest of the gang, stands the 81-foot-high National Monument to the Forefathers (Allerton St., one block from Plymouth Rock), a solid-granite statue erected in 1889. Two abutting tablets list the names of each original Mayflower passenger.

Lobster Tales Pirate Cruises

Bearing little if any connection at all to Plymouth’s legitimate historic sites, but entirely fun regardless, are the Lobster Tales Pirate Cruises (Town Wharf, 508/746-5342, www.lobstertalesinc.com, May–Oct., call for times, $18). On these cruises little buccaneers are offered face paint and pirate hats as the ship sets sail to do battle and reclaim a treasure chest in the harbor. Gimmicky? Of course. But when the kids have gotten antsy from an overload of education, it’s the ideal fix.

Jenney Grist Mill

Witness the way corn was ground during the time of the Pilgrims at the rebuilt Jenney Grist Mill (6 Spring Ln., Plymouth, 508/747-4544, www.jenneygristmill.com, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Mon.–Sat., noon–5 p.m. Sun., Apr.–Nov.; closed Dec.–Mar., $6 adults, free youth under 17); the original, owned by Pilgrim John Jenney, was destroyed by a fire in 1847. Today the mill makes for a fun family outing, with tours, a spring herring run in the abutting pond, and a general store peddling freshly ground corn and penny candy.