Today we went to the Vietnam Memorial, which is a long black wall depicting the names of the dead and missing soldiers who were involved in the war. The Korean Memorial, which consisted of a black wall much like the one in the Vietnam Memorial, but instead of depicted names of soldiers, it showed many different faces of actual soldiers etched into the side of it, a collection of statues representing the diversity of America and its armed forces at that time, and a small pool of water which recognized the amount of MIA, dead, and wounded soldiers who were involved in the Korean War.

Finally, we visited the Lincoln Memorial. This famous building which holds the marble carving of one of America’s most famous presidents; Abraham Lincoln, and two of his most famous speeches; The Gettysburg Address and his Inaugural Speech. Once we had left the collection of Memorials and statues dedicated to America’s most appreciated veterans, we headed straight to the Smithsonian Museums of Air and Space, American History, and Natural History. My group first visited the Museum of Air and Space. My favorite exhibit, chosen from the ones we had time to see, was the walk through panels of WWI. This exhibit began with an introduction into the first usages, advantages, and disadvantages of aircraft in the First World War. It included small things like the cameras that were attached to the side of fighter planes to take pictures behind enemy lines.

Later that day, the team leaders decided not to go to the White House one, because of the amount of tourists and citizens that were in the area at that time and would have made it very difficult to see the building, and two, so that we could have more time to get ready for the dinner theatre. Supposedly one of our students saw Tony Hawk on the sidewalk outside the Smithsonian Museums. Two other of our students danced for the public and showed off to the crowds with some street dancers beside a farmers market earlier today. They even beat them in a dance competition in which the winner was chosen with the loudest crowd applause! We then attended a musical called “In the Heights”. It was an awesome experience! The group was able to get served by the stars of the show and meet them close and personal and then watch them as they brought the stage to life with a display of Latin music and romance in present day New York City. All in all, we had an eventful day and are very tired, but also looking forward to what tomorrow has in store.

--Karen