Hellobee Boards

I took my kids when they were 5 and 7. We visited the museum, the USS Arizona memorial, completed junior ranger workbooks. We then went to the USS Missouri.

We had read a couple of books beforehand so they understood the significance of the place. My youngest was getting cranky by the time we got to the USS Missouri. My oldest, who loves history, was really interested throughout the entire visit. He had to prepare a research project for school later that year and picked Pearl Harbor as his subject.

So I’d recommend going too. At 7 and 9, I’m sure your kids will be fine. I’d recommend arriving on the earlier side to get good parking, and not be too ambitious and try to see all the museums and monuments. For us, visitor center, USS Arizona and USS Missouri was enough.

I don't have Pearl Harbor-specific experience, but we took our then-5-year-old to the September 11 memorial last year. One thing that seemed to really help her process and connect to the experience was reading a few children's book about it beforehand. That gave her an age-appropriate account of what happened, an opportunity to ask questions beforehand, and some concrete details to look for during our visit. So I would recommend looking for some books about the event and the exhibits that can help everyone with setting expectations ahead of time.

@agold: There are a few different books about a tree that was at the WTC site before the attacks, was basically nursed back to health, and is now growing at the memorial. My daughter really connected to this, and spent a long time at the tree when we visited. This Very Tree is my favorite of the books that tell this story.

I also like Fireboat, which again tells a specific story about that day, rather than the whole event. Both of these books allowed us to follow our daughter's lead and fill in as much as she was curious about.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250788504/thisverytree

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/289984/fireboat-by-maira-kalman-illustrated-by-maira-kalman/

@agold: This Very Tree doesn't at all - the whole thing is told from the tree's perspective, and a lot of it is conveyed in the illustrations. I don't remember planes even being pictured.

Fireboat does say that planes crashed into the buildings, but it is one sentence on one page - not a lot of detail or focus.

If you search for either title and "read aloud" on YouTube you can preview the whole book before deciding whether to order/borrow it.