 |
| Declaration of Independence! |
On Monday, we took an Uber into Washington D.C. and went to the
National Archives for a quick visit.
National Treasure is a favorite movie in this house (Thanks to Zach) so it was very fun for the kids to see a place featured in the movie.
We saw the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution,B ill of Rights, Letter of Emancipation, 19th Amendment and the Magna Carta. It was so neat to see these important documents in person! We spent about 90 minutes there.
 |
| Bill of Rights |
 |
| Rosie the Riveter |
 |
| The Magna Carta |
Next, we walked about a mile down the National Mall to the United States Holocaust Museum, where we had a time-stamped entry. This museum was full to capacity for many time slots while we were there, so if you want to visit, I would recommend planning ahead for the day/time you want.
 |
| Front of the museum |
We ate lunch at the cafe in the museum --I had a really good matzo ball soup!
 |
| Reminds me of the soup my grandma used to make, only extra flavorful. |
Because we ate lunch, we were just on the edge of our entry time, but the staff were so kind--we were able to get day-of tickets without a problem. The museum is free, but they monitor how many people are there. I think it's a good thing, but there were SO MANY people there when we were there. The staff handled it well. The information desk folks saw Wilder and Felicity, and recommended we start with the children's exhibit. That was excellent advice. The exhibit follows a fictional boy named Daniel, who was Jewish and lived with his family in Germany. Through diary entries, we saw his life before Nazi's came to power, then how it changed as persecution began, then the move to a ghetto, then to a concentration camp. It was an experiential and age-appropriate way (ages 8 and up) to introduce kids to the Holocaust.
 |
| This was really powerful. |
At the end of Daniel's Story, visitors are invited to write about what they encountered, and process their thoughts.
In line at the main permanent exhibit, a docent welcomed our family, and shared with Zach and I which two areas to avoid showing the kids due to graphic images. They were on the second floor, and you had to look over a concrete wall to the screen to see them. I appreciated the heads-up. While the kids are familiar with the history and have seen several museum exhibits about the Holocaust, we also have not finished the Ken Burns documentary about World War II because the images are too graphic for their ages right now. We prepared the kids for what we would be seeing, and they did well taking it all in.
This museum was exceptional--it was a comprehensive overview of some of the politics that let to Hitler rising to power, the responses of other countries, and what it was like for Jewish people during that time. It shares facts and stories, photos, videos, artifacts, sounds and more. But it wasn't overwhelming. We spend about 3.5 hours there. I'm really, really glad we got to visit. Wilder studied the Holocaust in 5th grade, and Felicity will be studying it this fall when she's in 5th grade.
 |
| Cities captured by the Nazis. I am pointing at Angers, France--I studied abroad there! |
 |
| Train car |
 |
Somehow I haven't yet read Elie Wiesel's books, as much as I've read about this time period. Seemed a good place to get them!
After our visit to the Holocaust museum, we took our first Metro trip to a stop near our friends. Wilder loves a good metro, and it was fun to ride! |
 |
| Had to take a selfie with the Department of Agriculture. Gig 'em! |
 |
| Smithsonian stop! |
We ended our evening back in Arlington, and spent time with our friends!
Next: Day 4: Capitol Tour, Library of Congress, Air & Space Museum
No comments:
Post a Comment