5/31/2015 0 Comments Day of Sadness and Laughter This day has ended on such a high note. We started the day at Mount Vernon. We toured the grounds of George Washington’s home and paid our respects to him at his tomb. We spent some time going through the museum and seeing artifacts owned by the Washingtons. We also toured through their home. It is the verdigris green painted dining room that most of the students said was too much for them. It is quite the bright green color. We had box lunches on the way from Mount Vernon to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Students had been looking forward to this after studying the Holocaust in middle school. They viewed the permanent exhibit, which includes key artifacts from the Holocaust, including one of the cattle cars that were used to transport people to the camps. When students exited the exhibit they said it was one of the saddest museums they had ever visited. We discussed the architecture of the museum as well that adds to the overwhelming feelings and makes visitors feel like they are under constant watch with guard towers all around. We told the students that if they should come out of the museum feeling on edge and concerned. That is the message it wants to get across to the public. When you see injustice in front of you, do you speak up to help end it or do you just stay silent and watch it happen?
After the Holocaust Museum we walked around the Tidal Basin, visiting the Jefferson Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, and the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. The 19 foot tall statue of Jefferson amazed them, since he is the same height as the Lincoln statue. They enjoyed the statues in the FDR memorial that represent the Great Depression, and they listened to Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” speech while standing around the frieze/ statue of him. We had a delicious dinner at O’Connell’s in Alexandria, which is an Irish restaurant. We ended the night with tons of laughter, which was needed after the seriousness of the Holocaust Museum and the memorials. We saw the play Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center. It is an interactive murder mystery in which the audience members participate by interviewing the suspects, pointing out evidence, and voting for who they believe committed the murder. They students had such a marvelous time. They were still analyzing the evidence and arguing about the suspects as we left the play. Tomorrow we will visit the US Capitol, the National Arch - 1431414ives to see the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution, We might get a chance to see the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court depending on time. We will hopefully end the day at the National baseball game. We are keeping an eye on the weather and hoping that the forecasted thunderstorms and rain stays away tomorrow. Steps - 14,767 Total – 44,745 steps
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