5-19-2022 - Teddy, Theater, and More

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial hosted us this morning for a sketching and writing session in front of the commanding Teddy Roosevelt sculpture. There, one teacher recorded on his app over seven different birdsongs, many students enjoyed observing a friendly fox, and several deer were spotted on short, lush hike around the island. After that, we returned to ‘mainland’ and students visited a Smithsonian Museum of their choice.

At the Museum of American History students viewed Dorothy’s ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz, an exhibit on girlhood, and steam trains and boat models. The Museum of Natural History houses the illustrious and infamous Hope Diamond, which left some of us underwhelmed. The National Portrait Gallery was lovely and seemed to resonate with students, especially the intentionally unfinished portrait of John Lewis. At the Holocaust Museum we walked again together in our family groups. Any big and deeply-felt emotions evoked by the tour were salved (as in helped by a salve) by our time in the reflection room at the end of the exhibits.

We had a brief stint back at the hotel to get dressed up for our dinner and theater date of Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center.  The interactive play was hilarious to most and after a comforting pasta dinner, phone calls home to families and hanging out on deck with a panoramic view of the city, it was clear that students were joyful as were the chaperones!