Saturday we had what a friend of ours calls “Forced Family Fun.” It’s the sort of day when mom and dad are going to push the kids out the door for a family outing whether they like it or not.

Turns out they liked it, but it didn’t come without moaning.

My wife and I had been planning on going to Museum of the Albemarle’s debut of its “Under Both Flags” exhibit for a couple of weeks. With all the displays and the exhibit itself, we figured this would be a great time to get out of the house and do something other than clean and just hang around.

When time came to head out, though, there were objections. One wanted time on the computer, while the other said he just didn’t want to leave the house.

“We have to go somewhere all the time,” he moaned.

Well, yeah, it’s true. Our family is coming and going a whole lot these days. But this, we declared, will be fun.

And the moaning and the objections could be heard all the way to the car, and throughout Weeksville.

When we arrived at Museum of the Albemarle, there was a handful of Civil War re-enactors set up on the green. The tents, the blacksmith, the soldiers in their gray wool, toting mussel-loading rifles immediately captured everyone’s attention. The idea that history can be entertaining was subtly occurring to my moaners.

Inside, the so-called “forced fun” quickly took hold as we were met with numerous displays of historic artifacts, people dressed in period costumes and of course a whole lot of swords.

There were firearms, too, but the boys took to the naval swords. We stood over them discussing them and deciding which one we liked best.

My daughter Izzy had borrowed her older sister’s colonial costume from Williamsburg, Va. It had the look of Civil War era work clothing so she blended in well with the crowd.

And the displays kept on giving, drawing our attention from one table and one room to the next.

Curiosity was piqued and questions flowed. The opportunity to educate while being entertained was bearing fruit.

Upstairs the exhibit created by MOA’s team fascinated as well. The children looked carefully at each display, pondering some more than others, drawn to those that were interactive, shunning those that might appeal to the adults more.

Whatever drew them, however, gave them more information about the Civil War and this region during that period than they had arrived with, so the museum’s job had been done well.

And of course as parents we could count ourselves victorious for having “forced” them to have fun.

But moreover, perhaps, as residents of Elizabeth City, we can also count ourselves fortunate for having a place like Museum of the Albemarle. We can count our blessings that we have a place to take our children and show them a bit about the region’s rich history. So, yeah, we had “Forced Family Fun.” But it looks as though this was one time when force was the right choice.