First family trip to the Big House

If you don't have a specific tailgate to attend:

Wander the golf course a bit.

Buy them a bunch of food from various vendors.

Be at the Drum line show in front of Revelli hall 1 hr before the game (then make sure you hurry to the stadium to watch the band enter)

But them a souveneir something from the M-den.

Profit (as world's best Dad)

I'm an idiot. I thought the Obamas were coming to Ann Arbor.

*

spin the cube.  Kids love that. 

From the title of this thread, I thought you were going to say THE First Family was visiting the Big House.   I couldn't understand why Obama would come to UM.

Just to check, the girls are 6-yrs-old and 4-yrs-old, is that correct?  If so, I can make some comments re: small children at games...  The tl;dr version: definitely can be a great experience, but be proactive, and don't sweat it too much if you miss a bit of the action in order to ensure, e.g., that bathroom access isn't an issue.

I am in your exact same position.  I have been going to Michigan games since 1982, but the first time I ever went with the whole family was 3 weeks ago for the Wisconsin game (wife, son 14, daughter 10).

They loved it.

It was a 3:30 game which helped a ton.  You can do so much more.  

We did the following:

Left for Ann Arbor so that we got there by 11:00.  There was no traffic.  We drove in from 14 to 23, down Washtenaw, and left on Hill street.  This took us past the painted rock and the scenic leafy Frat houses on Hill St.  The women folk were inpressed with that.  Even at 11:00 there was a buzz on campus as we were driving in.

We walked around campus - the "Hogwarts" Law Quad (you have to do this, it's impressive), the sleek new B-School for contrast, the Union for campus buzz and to spin the cube (kids loved this, but be careful they don't get hit in the head when they are not looking.  It almost happened to my daughter . . . )

We then walked around the Diag and the town, up State towards the theatre and down Liberty.  We had lunch at Knights.  Nice non-chain restaurant that had good food and we could get in without fuss.

Then we walked down State to Hoover past all the crazy parties and the street scene.  You have to do this.  It's a show.

We watched the Drum Line show on the steps in front of Revelli Hall on Hoover St..  It starts 90 minutes before game time (not 60 minutes) , i.e.  2:00 for a 3:30 game.  

Then after the Drum Line show, the dance team (what most people think are the "cheerleaders") put on a little show at Revelli.  My daughter loved this since she does cheer/dance/gymnastics.  She got her picture taken with the dance team, holding Michigan pom-poms.  They are very accomodating to kids.

Then the part they liked the best . . . we marched with the band, I mean directly behind the band, up to the stadium.  The band makes a show out of the march.  They play the drums and call out cadence the whole way up to the stadium.  

HINT: when you have a little girl(s), you can get away with anything.  There is an assistant that stays behind the band on the march and keeps people away.  But he let me and my daughter march right behind the band/dance team all the way up.  We were talking with him the whole way.  My daughter loved it.  Don't be shy . . . having 2 little girls will let you get access to stuff that they would not let an adult get.

Once we got to the stadium - which looks like a castle on a hill when you come from that direction - we walked through all the fancy tailgates near the Crisler Center and up to the corner of Stadium and Main.  The golf course was not open for tailgating, but if it was, there would have been enough time to check out that scene for a little bit.

Aftrer all of that, I was still able to get into the stadium before kick off.

My family loved the whole college-y scene, especially my daughter and son. 

My daughter with the dance team:

Get this picture for your daughters.  You will be a hero.  When the Drum Line show is over, the dance team comes out and does their own show. When they are assembling for their show is a good time to get pics.  They will be very friendly to your girls.

North Quad.   Walk through campus:  Diag, in front of Angell, Art Musuem, and  through the Law Quad to the library reading room.   Make your way down State Street and over to the stadium and tailgates.    They will fall in love with the school and not just the stadium/tailgates.

This is a great post. I also have plans to take my 5 year old son to the Maryland game. Is it possible to see the band at Revelli Hall, march for a bit, AND make it into the stadium in time to see the band take the field?

Not all concessions are wired for plastic acceptance.  My daughter likes to investigate all the various concessions with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.

Take it in! Breath the air! Be excited (as others have said) and pump up the volume!

Get them a burger at Frasiers Pub for lunch at 11:30.  And Dad should have a couple of beers there after being in a car with a 6 and 4 year old all morning, handing over driving duties to Mom for the remainder of the day.

Then you can do the Hogwarts Quad, Drumline, blah, blah, blah. 

Central campus is fun to explore.  My daughter actually loved the libraries more than anything else when we did the same thing during the Wisconsin game.

I would note a word of caution about the gameday M-Den recommendation.  I would suggest that if you plan on getting M swag, to do it before going and just make it special game day attire.  Otherwise, you may find yourself grinding your teeth as you wait 1 hour+ to check out.  But if you're just going to browse, that could be fun if you don't mind all the people.

Time goes fast.  Wiscy was a 3:30 start and we had to let plans go just because time got away from us. 

When I've taken younger children to a game in Ann Arbor I've always tried to position myself with them at the corner of Green/Kipke/Keech Avenue.  The band steps off from Hoover (they usually publish a time during game week) and then marches down Hoover and turns left (south) on to Green St.  You can hear them, then you see them, and if you're positioned right they go march by you.  Depends on the child but they've all tended to like that.  Also, the children's museum in Ann Arbor is really good.  Hope that helps

Your kids may be a little young to appreciate the "football" aspect of the trip so my advice is to focus on things that they'll remember so they can begin to associate Michigan football with the best place on earth.  I took my two 12 year old daughters last year for the first time.  They loved the pre-game shopping spree at M Den!  They also enjoyed a walk around central campus and Stucci's of course.  I grew up in A2 and went to school from K through college but my kids have grown up in Cali.  But they have seen their crazy dad watching everything Michigan for years so they already think it's the best school.

We are heading back for the Illinois game and bonus, my girls play volleyball and we will be going to the match against Penn St. right after the football game.

Introduce your kiddos to a variety of things but try to find stuff you know they'll really love.  Hopefully, this will be the beginning of an annual trip for you too!

Enjoy!

GO BLUE!!