Washington D.C. May 2009

Day 1

On May 4, 2009 at 6:00 a.m. 28 8th graders and 6 staff members from Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts boarded a bus and headed towards the Country’s Capitol; Washington D.C. for 4 days and 3 nights of learning about the history of our great country!

What started out as an ordinary bus ride down good ole 95 turned into a bit of an adventure as the bus had to pull over due to a flat tire. After about an hour and a half delay, we continued our journey to D.C. Eventually we all arrived safely and picked up our tour guide for the week, Tim.

Tim immediately got busy showing us the sites and attractions. We began at a Smithsonian Museum; The American History Museum where we saw some incredible pieces of our American History including the actual Star Spangled Banner, the dresses of the First Ladies of our Country, Rebecca Lobo’s sneakers (luckily they were behind glass) and a few interactive attractions such as how to wring out laundry or how eye glasses work.

After that museum we went to Hamburger Hamlet for dinner and then it was off for more touring. We headed to the Lincoln Memorial (look on the back of a penny), the Vietnam Memorial, the Reflecting Pool and the World War II Memorial. Students were actively engaged in their surroundings and asking appropriate questions.

In the evening students reflected in their journals as to what they saw, why it is relevant and how they can connect to the experience. Somewhere around 11:00 p.m. everyone finally settled down to get ready for another exciting day tomorrow!!!!