On Wednesday of spring break, Troop 66 left for Washington, D.C. We went to West Suffield Congregational Church and packed items we needed like coals, dutch ovens, tents, and other supplies. Then we drove to Washington, D.C. When we got to our campground we set up tents, we went into town and had dinner.
Troop 66 poses outside the National Museum of American History on April 12. They were led by Tom Bishop (back row, center, tall) and Nate Prusi (on Tom’s left).
On Thursday, we took the metro and went to the Capitol. We toured the Capitol. First we saw a movie about the Capitol, Washington DC, and Congress and the creation of the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the Capitol we visited the area above the crypt. There were statues there of founding fathers from the original 13 states. Next, we went to the Rotunda. In here were historical statues and paintings. Next, we went to a room that houses statues which were important figures from each state.
After the tour we went to give letters on topics important to the Scouts that they felt Congress could improve by passing laws. There we were given passes to visit the Senate Chamber. We then returned to Capitol building where we were able to visit the Senate Chamber. We had lunch in the Capitol and then we went to visit the Natural History Museum.
At the Museum of Natural History, we saw a giant squid, dinosaur fossils, ancient humans’ skulls, and more exhibits on sea life. On the second floor we saw displays on insects, stones and gems, Egyptian artifacts, and we even saw the Hope Diamond. After that we took the Metro back to camp.
On the second day we got to tour the White House. It was pretty interesting with the “Red Room”, “Green Room” and “Blue Room”. The oldest painting was of George Washington which only survived because it was removed when the British were coming in the War of 1812 and was not burned with the White House.
After the White House the Troop toured the Monuments. We started with the Washington Monument. The World War 2 Monument was next. There was a giant pool, and one side of the monument represented the Pacific Theater of the War and one side was dedicated to the Atlantic Theater. The Vietnam Memorial was next. Seeing all the names of people who died and what visitors left in remembrance in one day was shocking.
The Lincoln Memorial was next in the tour. I did not expect it to be so big. There was a massive statue of President Lincoln in the center. The Korean War memorial was next. It was shocking to see the statues of the people and all the names. From afar it did not look like many but up close see how many names were in the Memorial of people who had died serving our country was a little scary.
The last monument was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The giant rock representing the mountain of despair and Dr. King being the stone of hope. Seeing his words around the place was inspiring.
The last day we visited the Historic Greenbelt. It is still a community, and it was made during the Great Depression so people could have jobs and a place to live. When it was first made, they tried to make it representative of the population and people had to answer what skin color and religion they were. Next, we went to Fort McHenry which helped America survive the War of 1812. It also inspired the creation of the National Anthem. Only 1,000 people defended it, but they survived against the British Navy.
Overall, the trip was a lot of fun. It was exciting, and I learned a lot about monuments, American history, the White House, American government, and the sacrifices brave people made in order to create, protect and advance our country.
The troop would like to send a heartfelt thank you to Mr. Markavitch for planning the trip, being our tour guide, and securing the White House tour.