Our day started very early (5:30 a.m.) so we could see as much as possible in the city. The Metro bus was operating on a full schedule today, so we were able to ride the bus from the campground to the College Park station. We then transferred to the Metro train and rode it into Union Station where we boarded a Tourmobile bus to take us around the city.
The kids had been looking forward to visiting the Smithsonian museums the whole trip, so our first stop was at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. We tried to see as much as we could, but it was difficult given that there were so many school groups there, making it a very crowded museum. We made our way through the Hall of Mammals, and the Hall of Paleobiology/Dinosaurs, and then up to the second floor where the National Gem and Mineral Collection is. It is a gorgeous collection!! We would have liked to have stayed the rest of the day, but there is so much to see in the city, that we knew we had to move on.
Christian requested that we visit The Holocaust Museum, so we made that our next destination. The Museum of Natural History and The Holocaust Museum are both located on the Mall, so we decided to walk even though it was a chilly, rainy day. It is difficult to put into words what we experienced at the Holocaust Museum. I certainly don't have any pictures to share with you, as there was nothing that I wanted to take a picture of. At certain points of time in my education, I have studied bits and pieces about the Holocaust, and as a family, we have read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, but none of my experiences prepared me for this visit.
Our family walked from room to room, and floor to floor in silence, as we pondered the most horrifying event in modern history. We were each given a small booklet that gave the name of a victim of the holocaust, their life history and their fate. People left these booklets laying around the museum, so we snatched up all of them we could find. We read eyewitness accounts, we watched actual video clips, we read newspapers, we looked at photos, we watched documentaries, we viewed artifacts throughout the museum, we stared into the empty faces on thousands of photographs, we learned about the holocaust through the eyes of child by reading his diary, and we wondered how a man could hate his fellow man to the point of torture and death. The Bible teaches that man is evil, a point that cannot be missed when visiting here. The museum has a very informative website worth visiting:
http://www.ushmm.org/
We would have liked to have stayed in the museum much longer, but we had to be back on a Tourmobile bus by 4:30. After we returned to Union Station, we enjoyed dinner at Pizzeria Uno.
The kids had been looking forward to visiting the Smithsonian museums the whole trip, so our first stop was at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. We tried to see as much as we could, but it was difficult given that there were so many school groups there, making it a very crowded museum. We made our way through the Hall of Mammals, and the Hall of Paleobiology/Dinosaurs, and then up to the second floor where the National Gem and Mineral Collection is. It is a gorgeous collection!! We would have liked to have stayed the rest of the day, but there is so much to see in the city, that we knew we had to move on.
Christian requested that we visit The Holocaust Museum, so we made that our next destination. The Museum of Natural History and The Holocaust Museum are both located on the Mall, so we decided to walk even though it was a chilly, rainy day. It is difficult to put into words what we experienced at the Holocaust Museum. I certainly don't have any pictures to share with you, as there was nothing that I wanted to take a picture of. At certain points of time in my education, I have studied bits and pieces about the Holocaust, and as a family, we have read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, but none of my experiences prepared me for this visit.
Our family walked from room to room, and floor to floor in silence, as we pondered the most horrifying event in modern history. We were each given a small booklet that gave the name of a victim of the holocaust, their life history and their fate. People left these booklets laying around the museum, so we snatched up all of them we could find. We read eyewitness accounts, we watched actual video clips, we read newspapers, we looked at photos, we watched documentaries, we viewed artifacts throughout the museum, we stared into the empty faces on thousands of photographs, we learned about the holocaust through the eyes of child by reading his diary, and we wondered how a man could hate his fellow man to the point of torture and death. The Bible teaches that man is evil, a point that cannot be missed when visiting here. The museum has a very informative website worth visiting:
http://www.ushmm.org/
We would have liked to have stayed in the museum much longer, but we had to be back on a Tourmobile bus by 4:30. After we returned to Union Station, we enjoyed dinner at Pizzeria Uno.
Christian met up with W at the campground office before we departed.
The ride into the station was a chilly one this morning, so we stopped and got Starbucks before boarding the Tourmobile.
The Hope Diamond - Museum of Natural History45.52 carats
One of the world's most famous gems
The Hazen Diamond Necklace - Museum of Natural History325 diamonds
131.4 carats
131.4 carats
Petersen Tanzanite Brooch - gorgeous!Museum of Natural History
Look out below!!At the Museum of Natural History
Walking down the sidewalk through the National Mallon our way to The Holocaust Museum
Posing for a picture on the National Mall
Tom expressing his sentiments about the Republican candidate for President
Waiting for our pizza to arrive at Pizzeria Uno
No comments:
Post a Comment