Washington DC Final Day!

I'm writing this as I fly over and across the country back to Utah. I feel like I had just the right amount of time in DC and that overall it was a really great trip. I learned a lot of things that I plan to share with my fellow teachers in the next couple weeks or so.

This morning before my last class, I walked a few blocks over to visit the Capitol building. I went early enough to try to catch the first tour, but I had no idea that the security would be worse ham going on an airplane. They made me throw away all my snacks in my backpack, which I am really hating right now on this plane. When I finally got in, I missed the first tour, so I had to wait for the next one. Meanwhile I looked around a little. I learned that there are two statues from each state commemorating someone of their choosing all throughout the Capitol building. California has Ronald Reagan and a missionary I don't know. Utah has Brigham Young and I didn't see the other one so I don't know who it was.
The architecture and paintings inside are pretty fantastic, especially in the domed room when presidents end their terms and where they have a viewing of the presidents and other special people when they die. I also got to see the crypt which doesn't really have anyone buried in it, but in the center of the room on the floor is a star that marks the exact center of the city.
So I wouldn't miss more of my class than I knew I would be already, I didn't go tithe Library of Congress, but I did take picture of it as well as the Supreme Court which is on the same block.
I do think I've mentioned the conversations I've had with taxi drivers. All but two of the taxi drivers initiated conversations and they were always really nice. Today my cab driver was playing Christmas music on the radio when all the others are usually playing classical music or nothing as we drove. Today my driver started a discussion on the government and politics a little and it made me laugh inside. It was a good discussion, just funny for a short ride across town. It didn't surprise me though. He said he was born and raised in DC. The conversation made me think a lot about how different it must have been to grow up in DC compared to other places, mainly because the government and politics is a part of the daily routine. It's ever present with all those memorials around and disruption of traffic whenever a politician or the president decides to have a night on the town. It felt as if the people there would more likely be involved or know what's going on in the Government because it's happening right there in their own city. As I watched the news while I was in the airport waiting for my first flight, I found myself more interested in hearing about the politics or whatnot of the area because I know the city better and it seems a part of the culture of it in someways. Granted, I know a lot of people that work in DC actually live in the outlying areas, but I feel like they are all connected. I only saw downtown, so maybe the feeling is different in other parts of DC. I don't know. I don't know how else to explain what I was thinking, so hopefully that makes sense.

Anyway, my last. Class was about children pretending to play with guns or other weapons in the classroom. It as a really good class! It's something I've struggled with, so I was happy to hear what she had to say about it. Basically, having a zero-tolerance policy is not the way to go if we are really trying to help the children grow and learn. I agree. It is just a matter of helping administration have an open mind about things. I'm excited to present the things I learned to my supervisor and director!

Washington DC Day 4

I got hit by a taxi. Okay, I really didn't but it sure feels like it! I was already pretty tired and sore yesterday from walking around, but after staying up late and needing to walk around more today, I seriously just want to lay down and do nothing for a long time.

This morning I went to two very interesting classes. One about growing a sunflower house with preschoolers and the other about different science stuff I can do with the kids. The second class ended really early so I had a little more site seeing time today. I took a taxi to near the National Mall and ate lunch at a cafe called the West Wing Cafe that had sandwiches. I was starving so it seemed really good. I then walked to the museum of American History. Now, something to take note here is that the city maps are very deceiving. They make it seem like the buildings are closer to each other than they really are. All the buildings here are huge and take up a lot of space so, in other words, I walked a lot.
This museum had a lot of exhibits, too, but only one I really liked and that was seeing the original flag that inspired the national anthem. They have it in very low light because it is super old and in pretty awful condition. The history of the flag is very interesting and it seems miraculous that it's even in the condition that it is considering how it's been treated since the day it inspired the anthem. I asked the guard how guarded it is usually and he just said that a guard is only there when people are in the museum, but otherwise the whole museum is under 24/7 guarding.
The other part of the museum I enjoyed was the history of transportation. They had some pretty awesome old cars, including a Model T Ford. I kind of wishes my brother Steven was there seeing all of it with me, I think he would have liked it. A wow moment in there was seeing several full sized train engines, although if shouldn't surprise me so much because this IS the Smithsonian after all!
Next I went to the Air/Space museum. Walking in to immediately see full sized airplanes all over, huge missiles, and Apollo 11 cockpit was a little overwhelming. I didn't know where to start! At this museum I started really feeling like I got hit by a taxi so I didn't quite get out of it all that I could have. Most of the exhibits were of airplanes from different eras. One half of the museum is dedicated to space travel, stars, and planets. The exhibit on the astronauts was very interesting, although a little sad that they aren't doing that anymore. It's easy to see what direction they are heading. No more people in space, but rather robots in space. I have to admit, I was disappointed in the exhibit on space and planets. It looks like it hasn't been updated in years, mainly the videos they show. I mean, they still show Pluto in the solar system model. They do say in some way that it's not a planet, but it's just weird to me to have that included still. I think that their focus is on Bionic Man, Mars, and technology and that's why.

Something I thought a lot about today is how amazing of is that these high class museums are free to visit. Seriously, these are some of the best museums in the world by all definitions and they are free. It's incredible and I am grateful. (I guess they are paid for by my tax dollars, which means that their actually not free, but I finally got some return on those dollars.)

I went to one more class this afternoon but I was so tired and not interested in the topic that I didn't pay much attention to that one. I was exhausted but I decided I still wanted to go to the Crime and Punishment museum. I ate at a fast food Indian place that I actually really liked. It took. While for me to find a quick place to eat because there were lots of people on the street tonight be use there was a game doing on at the Verizon Center only a couple blocks from the museum where I was dropped off. Washington Capitols playing someone tonight. It was crazy and a little scary to say the least. It was worth it though. The crime museum is my second most favorite museum I've gone to. I wish I had more time there because I didn't realize how interesting it would be beside the CSI stuff I wanted to see. I learned a lot. The museum people didn't realize I was still I there when they shut off the lights. Fortunately, it was still light enough for me to run downstairs to quickly get a look at the actual set of America's Most Wanted. That was cool. I asked them about it and they said John Walsh would come in about twice a month to film down there until it was cancelled in April.
Lest I forget to mention it, my most favorite museum is the Natural History Museum. I didn't get to see all of that one either!

Day 3 Pictures

All the buildings in this area are mandated to be the same height, no taller than the Capitol building which on the top has a statue that represents freedom. Can't block so always in the sight of freedom. This building on this block in pic above is actually one huge building with 566 rooms takes up several blocks. 

Freedom is not free

These are only a few if the pictures I took. I have better ones on my normal camera that hopefully turned out better. 

Sent from my iPhone

Washington DC Day 3

Wow. Today has been incredible! I wish I had enough time to account everything I experienced today. I went to a few classes that really inspired me and gave me great ideas of things to do with my kids. After two classes his mornin I went to the Old Post Office where inside there are lots of shops and food places. I went up the tower to see a pretty good view of the city. The Washington monument is closed for repair from an earthquake, so it's the next best thing. I went up a cool glass elevator to get up. In the tower there are the bells of congress that ring on certain days, so that was cool to see. Inside the old post office there is a store that has been pain business for 29 years and for some reason they are closing down. It is the store where people to to get their fake picture with the president. I didn't know it until I went in, but since they were kind of using a barter system to sell things, I got a picture and a keychain there. So, yeah, I have one of those pictures now. Haha. From there I went to the national archives, but on the way I walked by the IRS building. Now I know where all my money goes. Haha. Actually, part of the reason all the smithsonian museums are free is because they are paid by taxes.

The national archives exhibit is incredible. All the museums with artifacts are very dimly lit, which kind of adds to the feeling of the places. Here I got to see the actual documents of the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, And all four pages of the Constitution. It was amazing to see them and see how faded they are, especially the Declaration of Independence. You can't really see much of the signatures on the bottom. The only one not faded is the Constitution because it was hidden away and not exposed to light end the elements as were the others. I asked a security guard some questions and learned that the security of those important documents has come a long way from what we see in National Treasure. He explained how it is kind of James Bond like to even try to find them besides the fact that they are moved every night to different parts of the building so anyone looking for them would have to look all over and they'd come across guards and other barriers before getting close. That was cool to learn. There also was an exhibit featuring different things that are in the archives, mostly related to the Presidents and things that happened when they were I office. It was very interesting how transparent it seemed to be. I then walked over to The National Mall, which is huge. It includes the major monuments and memorials and would take forever to see everything on foot. The Smithsonian museums are all along the block as well. Today I went to the museum of Natural History, which inspired the movie Night at the Museum. I walked in and recognized the main lobby area from the movie. There are lots of exhibits there and not much time, so a lot of them I quickly walked through and tried to see the main things. I saw the T-Rex, the mummies, and the famous Hope Diamond. Seeing all the bones, especially of the small animals made me think how creepy seeing all of them would be if it weren't a museum. There was a lot on human evolution and so I saw lots of old human skeletons, including the famous one named Lucy. There were two exhibits there I wish I could have stayed to looked at, but as it was I was cutting it close. Considering I had to leave the museum and find a taxi, it was seriously a miracle I made it to my afternoon class on time. I'm glad I went because it was a class on sensory disorders I really needed to hear.
I had many wow moments this morning, and so it was worth it.

After the class I went to the expo where hundreds of companies or people come and bring their things for us teachers. It was really overwhelming looking at a huge room full of booths. Where do you begin? I didn't get much free stuff, but I did get to meet one of my most favorite children's song writers named Jim Gill. I'm always using his songs with the kids. I ended up buying a couple things there.
Tonight was the very best, though. I will be super tired tomorrow, but it was worth it. I did the DC night tour where an awesome tour guide took a large group of us to all the major sights of DC. He even did an extra one for us, which I am grateful because that one hit me the most. I wasn't expecting to be so moved by the some of the monuments. There is such an almost sacred feeling at some of them. My favorites were the marine memorial and the Lincoln memorial. The tour guide was awesome. I wish I had money to tip him. He did everything just right. I took tons of pictures but because it was dark I'm not sure how well they turned out. I'm exhausted. I can't believe I gave another day and a glad here! I'm excited for tomorrow!

Pictures will come later, sorry.
Sent from my iPhone

Pictures from Day 2