Day 3

The third day in Washington focused on museums, the Smithsonian ones in particular.  We started at the Museum for the American Indian, and finished at the Museum of American History. It was a tight schedule, but I got to see everything I was interested in. I learned about some Native American legends and cultural aspects, and from there we went to the Air and Space museum. I missed out on some of the simulators, but learnt about space exploration and the history of flight. After a break for lunch we made our way to the Hirshhorn Modern Art museum, where we were met with some surprising art, to say the least. Exploding heads are apparently a key aspect of modern art. The penultimate stop on our tour was the Natural History museum. It was an eye-opening experience, because over the last few weeks we've been studying specific sites in Washington, and one of mine was the Natural History Museum. It was very interesting to see how the site compared to my research. The natural history museum was my favourite so far, and I was reminded of my failure to discuss the hope diamond in my presentation. :) And finally, the American History museum. I learnt a bit more about the history of the city we are staying in, and of wars in the country's past. We finished off the day with a tour of the city after dark, and I saw many of the other sites my classmates discussed, such as the Iwo Jima, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln Memorials.  I've made some new friends from the Asper group, and met some old ones too.  Looking forward to the Newseum tomorrow, and possibly our busiest day yet.

Ariel Goodwin