If you have mechanically-minded kids you think should become history-minded as well, try enticing them with the story of Big Ben.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qad6Q_RbQQ0?rel=0
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/what-tune-does-big-ben-chime/
And if they want to know what the chimes ‘say’, it’s:
Lord through this hour
Be thou our guide
So by Thy power
No foot shall slide.
Although, as a child, I learned this variation:
Now hour by hour
Be thou our guide
That by thy power
No step may slide.
Time Travelling With Kids 