Washington, D.C.

Except for the 3 AM wake up call to get to the airport on Tuesday morning, the DC part of the Teaching American History Grant has been phenomenal!  The weather has been cool and breezy with some rain.  Houstonians have forgotten about rain!  

We weren't given time to think about how tired we were when we landed in Baltimore.  We were loaded onto the bus for the quick drive to D.C., and then had lunch near the Mall.  It was a gorgeous day, only about 82, and we were in awe!  After we ate, we headed to the National Archives for a workshop.  I have great primary sources to use with my kids!  Love it!  We also got to see the Constitution,  Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Magna Carta.  Woohoo!

Lisa, Sarah, me, Diane, Michelle, and Greg were chosen to be archivists for our workshop at the National Archives.  It was very interesting!

A sign any teacher can appreciate: hands on knowledge=lasting knowledge

Outside the National Archives.  Documents are cool!

Tuesday evening was spent on a "Twilight" tour of the National Monuments.  We drove by the Thomas Jefferson Monument on the basin/Potmac, and then walked through the FDR Memorial.  That is a beautiful place!  Then we were on monument overload with the Washington and Lincoln monuments, and WWII, Korean, and Vietnam memorials.  Phew!  I had experienced that part of D.C. before, but it was a treat to see them again.  This time, we traveled to the top of the Washington Monument.  D.C. is a gorgeous city from 555 feet, but San Jacinto is taller....

"Twilight" Monument Tour with WWII Memorial and Washington Monument.  It wasn't quite sunset yet.

Yesterday morning was on our own, so several of us decided to tour the Museum of American Indians.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I got more than I bargained for when I agreed to tag along with my friends.  The building itself is new and flows like sand in the wind.  Everything is made to look natural, and various ecosystems were recreated around the building's exterior.  Inside, peoples from both North and South America were represented.  I was very impressed, and I learned a lot too.

The Museum of American Indians blew my expectations out of the water.

After lunch, we had a workshop at the Newseum, and then we toured the building.  That's one cool place!  It's fun to see how the headlines are affected by the culture of a region or a time period.  Ethics for journalism have also changed over time, and I was intrigued to learn just how many places in our world have government controlled media.  It really is pretty pathetic.

Yes, the Canadian Embassy blocks a full view of the Capitol from the Newseum Balcony.

Today began early with a tour of the Spy Museum.  Let's just say as a classic James Bond junky, it was cool to see how espionage is really performed!  We met with a former CIA agent, but she didn't tell us much.  I don't think she couldn't tell us, but didn't want to tell us so we'd be enticed to purchase her book.  Guess who didn't buy her book...?

This afternoon was a mad dash of the Natural History and American History museums.  Both were amazing, but overwhelming to tired ladies sick of wild children not being properly supervised.  We did visit Julia Child's kitchen, found one of Minnie Pearl's hats, paid our respects to the original Star Spangled Banner, watched butterflies hatch, stare in awe at the Hope Diamond, and visit a few of the animals made even more famous in "Night of the Museum".