A few weeks ago the little homeschool group we have been joining for field trips had planned a tour of the capitol building. Since we had a commitment that morning I hadn't expected to attend. Our appointment wrapped up early however, and I quipped that we could have gone ahead and done the field trip after all. My husband said why don't you guys just pack up and head down?
Why not indeed? Though if you knew me you'd know that while I am always game for spur of the moment outings when I am riding shotgun, it's different when I am the driver and navigator both. Especially since I don't know everyone in our group well enough to recognize them at a distance. First thoughts were that it was too late, there wasn't enough time to check out directions and confirm with people and about a dozen other reasons why it was too much trouble. The second thought was go, Kim. Just get in the car and it will be great.
And it was.
We not only got a tour but a thorough history of the building and the circumstances surrounding its construction and our statehood. The land it sits on came into the hands of the state through a windfall of inheritance tax money from a railroad tycoon.
The murals just below the rotunda depict early missionaries and settlers.
The beehive is the state symbol and it figures prominently throughtout the building.
We were fortunate that one of our state representatives took time to visit with us and arranged for the children to sit in on a hearing discussing upcoming measures. Being kids, and being tired by that time, there was glazing over. Later that night though we saw our local television news channel had been there and was covering the same things we learned about in the evening news.
It was a beautiful day and they came away with a firm idea of the three branches of government as well as a clear visual of where and how they work in this state. Bonus was we were right down the street from Whole Foods so we stopped and had an overpriced fun lunch while we were in town. And I didn't get a parking ticket and didn't get lost. Not that you were probably concerned but just wanted to throw that in.
Looks like a fun field trip! When I was growing up (in Illinois) the state homeschool association used to organize an annual homeschool meet up in the capitol called legislative days. It was s whole weekend of legislative and historical tours, lobbying our reps about bills affecting homeschoolers, sitting in on hearings, serving as pages to legislators, and gatherings. As an adult all I can think about is what a logistical nightmare it must've been to organize! That said, it gave such a great hands-on picture of government and citizenship just like your crew got today. I love that most capitols were built when people still took the time to make buildings beautiful.
Posted by: Sarah | April 08, 2017 at 12:17 PM