Just an FYI if you do come to Williamsburg: the movie “Hidden Figures” was based on the events at Langley base in Norfolk, which is about 25 minutes from here.
NASA Langley is actually in Hampton, which is on the same side of the bridge as Williamsburg. Norfolk is on the other side of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel (which can get very backed up at times, particularly in the summer with people heading to Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks).
I haven’t been to the science museum in Roanoke VA000 since the kids were very young, but we used to go to science museums everywhere we went as they got tired of regular museums pretty quickly In fact, our membership to the NY Science Museum usually gave us free admission. There’s on in Roanoke VA. http://smwv.org/
@mathmom the transportation museum in Roanoke is worth a visit, too!
Unfortunately my parents have passed on so I have no reason to be in the area any more. 
Since you’re expats, you might not be aware of the American children’s classic novel MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE by Marguerite Henry. My kids loved visiting the island after we read the book.
My D3 had a class trip where they rafted somewhere in the WV/VA area and then drove to the outer banks to go hang gliding at Kitty Hawk. The first airplane was basically a kite and the class had studied inventions that year. The kids loved it! Us parents, who had to sign about 15 forms absolving the gliding company for everything that could possibly go wrong, well we dealt with it and it turned out just fine.
@sevmom, thank you! You are, of course, correct. We just moved here, so I’m still trying to keep it all straight.
There so many military and government facilities around here, I keep mixing them up. The other day I took a wrong turn amd ended up driving into Fort Eustace. Let me tell you, those people with their AK-47’s have no sense of humor when they’re in uniform.
@hayden , Welcome to the Hampton Roads/ Tidewater Virginia area!
@hayden I don’t think I knew that you’re in Williamsburg. One of my favorite places! We spent our honeymoon there and have been back more than a dozen times through the years. I was saying to my H just last week that we need to go again since we haven’t been there since we visited at the same time as the Queen! 
If you go to Williamsburg, there’s a barbecue place called Pierces Pit (just down the road from great wolf lodge) that people seem to love. It’s not fancy - think McDonalds, but barbecue. It’s inexpensive, and they get lots of business every day.
Yes, Pierce’s is great and always crowded but any lines move quickly.
Pierce’s has been around forever (but not in its current form!). I can remember stopping there on Route 60 as a little girl (and that was a very long time ago!).
I am a native Memphian. Anyone that tells you that they have better BBQ than we do is plain wrong. We do have the International BBQ Cooking Contest on the banks of the Mississippi every May for a reason. But, if you are coming from NJ, you likely aren’t getting to Memphis (though I could name ten BBQ joints in Memphis that are awesome off the top of my head).
For your trip, I would recommend hitting certain highpoints. Understand, though, you will be doing a LOT of driving. If you only have seven days, driving from the Outer Banks to Atlanta will take you a day. That being said, both are great places. Between the Eastern Shore of Virginia and the Outer Banks, do the Outer Banks. That being said, I have always preferred the northern portion of the Outer Banks. Williamsburg is great, though the paid tour is overpriced. If you need a rollercoaster day, Busch Gardens in Williamsburg is very nice. Atlanta is a wonderful city. THe Georgia Aquarium is well worth a day. CNN Center (setting aside the bizarre Gestapo security) is an interesting tour. I would avoid Gatlinburg (especially after the fire). But, go to the Smokey Mountain National Park. It is a truly beautiful place, and you don’t need to camp. Find a nice town about 30 minutes away and stay there. The Biltmore mansion in Asheville is worth a trip, too.
That there would fill up a seven day trip, easily. Of course, you would be eating crappy vinegar Carolina BBQ, but you can’t have it all.