Putnam County R-I Schools

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A Trip to Remember

Annual 8th Grade trip to Washington, D.C.

May 21, 2015

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Ford Theater where Lincoln was assassinated.

Old Supreme Courtroom

Library of Congress

At Mount Vernon.

A week ago from the time of this writing, seven 8th graders from Putnam County had figured out a lot of things. Some had learned that flying is actually a pretty nice way to travel. Others had discovered that you had better be quick if you're going to get a seat on the Metro train and that city people are always in a hurry, so don't stand in the middle on the escalator. Who knew that the Capitol dome would be encased in scaffolding? Or that a bottle of water would cost three dollars? More importantly, they had learned that our nation's capital is brimming with history at every turn and that a week is not nearly long enough to take it all in.

The many genuinely nice people we encountered made everything just a little better. The Senate aide who gave us a tour of the Capitol was so personable that he made us feel quite welcome. President Truman's old office was adjacent to where we met our guide. The Capitol tour began by our being whisked over from the Russell building by underground train. It turned out that Joe, our tour guide, was originally from Kirksville. He mixed historical trivia and amusing anecdotes in with the drier facts. We were proud that our students were able to answer the various questions he threw at them about how our government works; clearly Mr. Freeman had gotten his points across effectively in the last quarter. Standing on the stairs from which a newly elected President walks down to to be sworn in was very memorable. The Old Supreme Courtroom was like walking into a time capsule from our nation's past as was the enormous hall under the Capitol dome with its statues, murals and amazing acoustics.

Everyone on the trip took a small notebook in which we recorded some brief impressions of what we had seen that day. A good thing too, since we saw so much it was hard to retain it all. The trip out to Mount Vernon with a river cruise on the Potomac as a real highlight but that was not the end of that day. After a full day at Mount Vernon, we were picked up by a private party bus and took a trip out to Georgetown University and saw the monuments and the White House at night. We toured the National Archives and saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and many other important documents along with a wonderful exhibit on the history of Prohibition. The Library of Congress was surprisingly beautiful. There we saw Thomas Jefferson's personal library as well as many displays including the Gutenberg Bible. A trip to Washington would not be complete without a tour of the White House and everyone was interested to know how the rooms we visited were used when not being seen by the public. Another must see in D.C. are the many Smithsonian Museums. We managed to visit two of them, the Air and Space Museum and the American Art Museum. We could have spent an entire day in each. Also part of the National Museums is the National Zoo where we did spend some time. The trip out to Alexandria, Virginia was extremely fun for everyone and the kids especialy enjoyed the ghost story tour. The Spy Museum was both fun and interesting as was the Museum of Crime and Punishment.

We all appreciate the generosity of the parents, School Board of Education and administration for their support of these educational trips. Please be sure to ask our new Freshmen, Kaleb, Asher, Tyron, Whitney, Tori, Riley and Molly about their trip. You'll be impressed by their depth of knowledge.

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