New River Academy Whitewater Kayak School

New River Academy students take an end of year field trip to Washington, DC. (c) Sam Fulbright

Many high school classes choose to travel to the capitol of the United States, Washington D.C., for a class trip. After a year of fundraising they go and spend a few days in a hotel, are escorted through all of the museums and enjoy the city as a group, usually wearing matching T-shirts. The New River Academy just had their annual trip to Washington D.C. We camped out, rode the Metro and explored the museums of interest.
The city was a great compliment to every course that is taught here at NRA, from photography to history. It is an example of the incredible education the students receive simply by having the opportunity to travel and taking advantage of what different locations offer. Visiting Washington D.C. offers a tidbit of knowledge on everything; it also helps us remember what our country was founded on and what it has taken to bring us to where we are today.

(c) Sam Fulbright. One is upside down.
We rode the Metro into the city a couple of days in a row and visited several museums and monuments. As everyone had different interests, the students were allowed to go check out any museum they wanted as long as they were in pairs. Several students enjoyed the National Geographic Best Shots of Nature photo exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science. Some students studying World War II in history class spent time at the Holocaust Museum. For my science students I arranged at trip to Baltimore in order to attend Body Worlds II.
The majority of the school elected to attend Body Worlds II in Baltimore. A group of us drove up and spent a day in the city exploring Baltimore’s science museum and learning about our bodies via Body Worlds. The day spent at the museum was perfect for hands on and visual learning. Students looked at cross sections of a healthy heart and at a cross section of a heart from someone who had died from a major heart attack. We were able to compare healthy lungs, to a smoker’s lung, to a coal miner’s lung. Everyone learned about neurons and how your brain and body communicate. Body Worlds II is a shocking display and is an excellent tribute to Anatomy and Physiology.
We were not limited to just Anatomy and Physiology at the Museum of Science. Everyone in the group enjoyed the hands on activities in the kids play room. We learned how an earthquake is formed, quizzed ourselves on our understanding of the atmosphere and proved several of the laws of Physics! The time spent at the museum helped solidify knowledge that students already had; everybody also learned something new.
As a faculty member, not only did I enjoy the exhibit and the museum, I found it invigorating and fun to walk with the students and share their enthusiasm to learn about the body.

Eleanor Perry is a Team Dagger paddler http://www.teamdagger.com/ssp/bios?bio=22 , the Spanish teacher, and Residential Life Coordinator for the New River Academy.