Whether impromptu or planned out, a summer road trip is a great way to build memories and learn at the same time. Gas up your car and read on for three U.S. vacation-education combos!

Mount Rushmore National Park

Keystone, South Dakota

Nestled in the Black Hills of Keystone, South Dakota, are the iconic faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Before you go, look up the histories of each president with your children on whitehouse.gov to learn about the significant roles they played in building our country. Your children can also get a primer on Mount Rushmore with this skill on IXL. After you visit, have your children journal about the experience and what stood out most to them about each president’s legacy.

Fun fact: Jefferson’s face was originally started on the right of Washington, but after 18 months the sculptors realized it wasn’t working and dynamited it off!

The Lincoln Memorial

Washington, D.C.

With engravings of the Gettysburg Address and President Lincoln’s second inaugural address, and as the site of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the Lincoln Memorial represents key periods of U.S. history. A perfect precursor to visiting is to read through these inspirational speeches with your children and discuss their meanings and how things have changed since they were written. Then, have your children get some background on the memorial, President Lincoln, or Dr. King with IXL’s skills!

Fun fact: Over the course of the memorial’s design and construction, Lincoln’s statue nearly doubled in size from 10ft to 19ft!

The Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, California

Possibly the most iconic landmark on the West Coast, the Golden Gate Bridge served as a symbol of hope during the Great Depression. Despite this symbolic status, there was a lot of debate surrounding the bridge’s construction. Before making the drive, have your children research arguments in favor of and against the construction of the bridge, and then craft their own opinion about whether the bridge should have been built. A great place to start is with IXL’s Golden Gate Bridge skill!

Fun fact: The Navy wanted the bridge to be painted black and yellow so it would be more visible!