Make History Come Alive With Drive Thru History Adventures {My Complete Review}

Let’s face it – there are a lot of curriculum options out there to choose from. And each one comes with the promise of being just the right one, just the right fit for your family. Some are easy to dismiss right away. Whether it’s price point, teaching style, or time required, some you just know won’t fit. Others are harder to say no to because they might work, but it’s a gamble. That’s when we start asking for help from your communities and fellow homeschoolers.

Then there are the ones you know you have to try out. A program that is just too good to be true and simply from the previews and samples on the website you are hooked. Drive Thru History Adventures with Dave Stotts is just that program. For the last several weeks my family and I have had the opportunity to hop in the passenger seat and travel all over the world as we review this unique online history program.

And what an adventure it has been.

“For the last 15 years, I’ve traveled the world to share the unvarnished truth of history, on location, in the context of adventure. I’ve started calling it “Adventure Learning” – history education that’s Christ-centered, fact-filled, and super fun.” Dave Stotts

Not Another Review

Honestly, my family was not quite on board with the fact that I chose to accept another review. However, they were quickly convinced that this would be a great fit for us. This would give us a break from books and studies and reports. It would allow us to try and bring history alive – something I desperately wanted to do for my children.

In fact, one of my children loves to say that if it happened “B.C”. (before child), then it doesn’t matter.

Clearly, I have my work cut out here.

I was determined so I showed them the site and a few sample videos, to get them to open up to the program. I explained how it’s video-based rather than book-based and we could all sit back and watch. We would see the locations where history happened. Be able to see the famous cities, places, and structures.

And that it would be not only educational and informative but fun as well.

Begrudgingly, they agreed to at least try.

Making Believers Out of Skeptics

The first program we decided to try out was American History Adventures. This is a 12-week program covering the discovery, settling, and eventual start of America as we know it – everything from Columbus to Constitution.

Now each week starts with a video that’s about 30-minutes long. Included in the program are suggested readings related to the video, a set of discussion questions (with answers), and digging deeper section perfect for going further with the topic with older children.

We sat down to watch the video. I tried to keep it upbeat and reminded the kids that this was new, but we were going to give it a chance. A fair chance.

Well, it only took that first video, just 28 minutes and 51 seconds, and my kids were hooked! The video was fun to watch. Dave does a great job of including humor, jokes, and whit alongside facts about Colombus, Vespucci, and the Spanish exporers. It was super informative and packed with more information than we expected. And most importantly, it was interesting.

History had been brought to life for my children. No longer did it seem just like a bunch of stuff that happened years ago. Rather, it was relevant and happening now, right on their television set (we connected the laptop to the TV). The video drew you in and didn’t just give you a bunch of facts and dates and names. Rather, Dave explored the areas he was talking about. He tells you about the people, about their character, and the motives behind their actions. You are drawn in with information that connects it to you and emphasizes the relevance with images, documents, and items from the time period.

After that first video, we sat down to work on the five discussion questions together. We talked about what we saw, what we learned, and what (if anything) we remembered from previously studying this time period. I also had to explain the 6-degrees of separation remark because that went right over their heads.

Continuing Our Journey

After that first video, the two older kids (12 and 13) and I decided that for the rest of the videos we would preview the questions before we watched. This would give us an idea of the information coming and help us to remember these key points.

I’d be remiss at this point if I did take a moment to talk about an understated companion of Dave in his adventures. This companion, of course, is a vehicle which is more than just a mode of transportation. Formally introduced in episode 2, the Drive Through History Mobile Adventure Vehicle is a customized red Jeep Wrangler complete with adventure trailer. This part of the episode was quite interesting to my boys who understood and could appreciate the information such as tire size and fender flares.

Me? Well, it’s just a Jeep to me.

And for the next couple of weeks, we watched and learned from the American History portion of the program. Each weeks video and accompanying questions, readings, and study material was just as good as the first. At one point my husband had the opportunity to watch one of the videos with us and he could see why I was so excited about this review. He even said he would like to watch more of them with us.

With a bit of sadness though, we decided to try out the other programs. To see if Bible History Adventures and Ancient History Adventures were just as good as the American HIstory program.

The short answer. Yes.

Time For A New Adventure

Bible History Adventures takes you right to Israel and starts out with the background information you need to complete the 18-episode program that covers the Gospels.

But first, you get to meet a new vehicle. A 1976 Land Rover nicknamed “Steve McQueen.” Now, it’s not quite as shiny, new, or fancy as the Jeep, but just like the Jeep becomes part of the series. As soon as we saw this vehicle my boys, of course, started asking where the Jeep went.

The first several episodes of this series were amazing to watch. Just as with American History, this program offers history rich and exciting taking the viewer as close to the area as we can be without hopping on a plane. Filled with facts, scripture, and just enough witty comments, Dave does an amazing job setting the stage for the birth of Christ. Episode 1 goes into great detail the differences between the Gospels, the historical significance of genealogy, and of course the political and cultural tensions at the time.

And of course, the entire series uses the four Gospels as their primary source of information but it is not the only source. There are plenty of supporting documents referenced and provided to help you fully understand.

For students (and you as well) this series is set up much like the American History. Review questions, suggested readings, and additional information is available. Combined with the videos, there is more than enough information available to take this series and dig deep into the Gospels and create a course of study for your and your children.

We have only worked in the first three episodes of this course, as there was more to look into!

Last Stop, Ancient History Adventures

Our last stop during the review period was in Ancient History Adventures which covers Greece, Rome, and Asia Minor. We have only completed the first video in this series (because we spent too much time on the other adventures), but I can tell you it’s just as good as they were.

These videos do appear to be slightly longer though, so maybe grab a snack?

The first video covers ancient Rome including an interesting story that is part myth, part legend, and part, well, deja vu. The story of Romulus and Remus was one we had studied before. However, my seven-year-old did not recall it and he was baffled. If you are unfamiliar with the story of these two bothers I recommend you start with this one when you join Drive Thru History Adventures.

And even though part of this video overlapped with the Gospel video we had just watched, it was still quite interesting. And it added a deeper level of understanding to the conflict that was brewing in Jerusalem just prior to and during the birth of Christ.

We have yet to meet a new vehicle in this series, but like I said, we just started it. And since this one covers such a large territory it will be interesting to see if a permanent vehicle makes an appearance.

Adventures TV and the Community

So far I have told you all about the three main courses available with Drive Thru History Adventures. But that’s not all. Adventures TV allows you to access all the videos from the three series as well as many extras. Dave’s Adventures, Side Roads, Dig Deeper, and behind the scenes videos can all be found here. These videos are typically shorter than the curriculum ones, but no less informative and entertaining. Here you can watch Dave answer questions from readers, share some quirky stories, or learn about the history of Valentine’s Day or the Lincoln Thanksgiving Proclamation.

Adventures TV is available on both iPhone and Android, allowing you to take the adventure with you wherever you go.

There is also a pretty active and fun members-only Facebook group. Here you can interact with Dave and all the other members of the group. Ask questions, give suggestions, and get input from other users of the program.

Drive Thru History Adventures, The Trip Of A Lifetime

This quote from Dave Stotts really resonated with me. “Now the tricky thing about history is that nearly all of it’s in the past. But history leaves us a trail of evidence, evidence that points to the truth. Its secrets are simply waiting to be discovered. All you’ve got to do is go look.”  (The Gospels, Episode 1)

As someone who has found it challenging to make history truly interesting to my children, this idea of just looking jumped out at me.

Now I get where my children are coming from. As a student in school myself I did not find history to be exiting or all that relevant. Maybe it’s the age? But what I loved about Drive Thru History Adventures is that it makes history exciting and impresses upon those watching the relevance.

As for us, we are going to stop jumping around because our review time is over, and finish out the Gospel series. All 18 episodes. By my calculations, we should be done right around Easter. After that, we will finish out American History followed by Ancient Civilizations.

Why? Why would we change up mid-year? Because in our opinion, it’s that good. Drive Thru History Adventures works for our family. It provides valuable content for all of us and challenges each of us individually. There is something to be learned from this program for everyone from my seven-year-old son right up through myself.

Are you ready to try out Drive Thru History Adventures with your family? Right now they are offering a set of The Gospels DVD to new members who sign up for an annual subscription! And, there is a 20% discount for readers of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine. Not a reader? Click here for the latest digital issue.