Catching Up On DC News...
5/3/2019
Day 3: On Wednesday, after checking out the White House and the White House Visitior’s Center (they now DEFINITELY know the difference between the Capitol building and the White House...), we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the newest Smithsonian: the Museum of African American History & Culture.
What a fabulous place this was! We took a huge elevator down through the years and started working our way from the dark times of the 1400s and slavery up through the decades until we emerged into the light and current times. As we walked the exhibits, we saw so many things we’ve been studying this year. Students took part in interactive activities to try and simulate things like a sit-in in Greensborough; we walked through a segregated rail car; we saw Harriet Tubman’s hymn book that sustained her though her many dangerous times on the Underground Railroad; we read and listened to the painful stories of Jim Crow laws. At the top of the exhibits we sat in the “Contemplative Court,” a peaceful fountain area to sit and reflect on what we had seen. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words gave us something to think about: “We are determined...to work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.” After a rest and dinner at the hotel, we headed to Nationals Stadium, where many experienced their first ever Major League Baseball game. We had such fun! Keno, after repeated attempts and with some help from the voices of his whole middle school class, got the outfielder to toss a ball our way after warm-ups; but it bounced off one of us and landed a few seats away. Keno fought hard to grab the ball, but it was not to be. All joined in for the seventh inning stretch, and we made our way home happy and laughing all the way! Day 4: If the museum of the previous day wasn’t meaningful enough, we had plenty to give us pause at our first destination on Day 4, the Newseum. This state of the art museum about all things First Amendment was a highlight of our week. We saw historic newspapers and documents all the way from the beginning years of our country; pondered what a precious right “freedom of the press and speech” really is, and were sobered at the Berlin Wall and 9/11 exhibits. We then headed over to the National Archives to see the actual documents that guarantee our rights: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. We ended the day with a visit to the Museum of Natural History, where we were grounded for a bit while a thunderstorm raged. Everyone was happy to have a quiet night at the hotel afterward! Day 5: We got an early start to visit the National Zoo today. The day was sunny and warm - again - and we wanted to beat the crowds and the heat. We weren’t too successful with that, but we did love seeing the pandas and elephants and baby gorilla. The little misting showers along the paths were very popular! We finished our day by dressing up in our fancy duds (boy did everyone look sharp!) and enjoying a fabulous performance of “Into the Woods” at Ford’s Theater. It was a small enough venue to allow us great views fo the highly talented cast, and we all agreed it was an amazing performance! Tomorrow we’ll head to Dulles early so we can check out some more aviation history before we head to home sweet home. It’s been a very busy week, and these kids have put some miles on heir tennis shoes! We are certain they’ll have lots to share...once they catch up on some sleep! Comments are closed.
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Sarah Mariner
Ms. Mariner earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science from Colorado State University, and was awarded a teaching certificate through the University of Alaska, Southeast. Her varied background includes being an environmental education field instructor in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Baja, Mexico. She also served two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. Archives
April 2021
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