Educational Travel Blog | From Sea to Shining Sea

Florida's Everglades National Park

Did you know that Everglades National Park in Florida is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States?  The park is home to many rare and endangered species, such as the manatee and Florida panther, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve and Wetland of International Importance.  Just over 60 years ago, the Everglades were thought to be of little value.  However, in 1947 Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote The Everglades: River of Grass.  The book drew national attention and 1.5 million acres (less than 20 percent of the Everglades) became established as Everglades National Park. 

 

One of the best ways to explore the Everglades is to do so riding aboard an air-boat, like our travelers do on our Florida class trip.  Their flat-bottomed design makes it easy for air-boats to navigate through shallow swamps, marshes, canals, rivers and lakes.  The seats are also elevated so that passengers can see over the tall grass and vegetation.  Once you begin traveling down the river you can see alligators, flamingos and other varieties of wildlife.  You might also catch a glimpse of a manatee or dolphin! 


Photo by Rodney Cammauf

Father's Day

This Sunday is Father’s Day, a holiday designed to thank our fathers for all that they do.  The idea for Father’s Day began in the late 20th century when Sonora Smart Dodd decided that fatherhood, like motherhood on Mother’s Day, needed to be recognized.  She wanted to honor fathers across America, and particularly her own father, a Civil War veteran who raised his family as a widower when his wife died in child birth with their sixth child.  On June 19, 1910, Dodd recruited members of the YMCA in Spokane, Wash., to help her celebrate Father’s Day.  They went to church wearing a red rose to honor a living father and a white rose to honor a deceased father. 

 

Unfortunately for Dodd, Father’s Day was subject to ridicule and was not taken seriously as a holiday.  However in 1957, Senator Margaret Chase Smith wrote a letter to Congress saying that America had been ignoring fathers for 40 years.  Chase said this was unfair since motherhood was celebrated during Mother’s Day.  Finally in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson issued a presidential proclamation to honor fathers on the third Sunday in June.  Father’s Day became a permanent national holiday in 1972. 

 

Father’s Day is a time to treat our fathers to a day of their favorite activities.  Some choose to celebrate with a bar-b-que, since this is a great opportunity to spend time with the entire family.  To get started, here is a recipe for Big Al's K.C. Bar-B-Q Sauce, courtesy of Alan Arthur.  Happy Father’s Day!

 

Ingredients

 

•    2 cups ketchup

•    2 cups tomato sauce

•    1 1/4 cups brown sugar

•    1 1/4 cups red wine vinegar

•    1/2 cup unsulfured molasses

•    4 teaspoons hickory-flavored liquid smoke

•    2 tablespoons butter

•    1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

•    1/2 teaspoon onion powder

•    1/4 teaspoon chili powder

•    1 teaspoon paprika

•    1/2 teaspoon celery seed

•    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

•    1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

•    1 teaspoon salt

•    1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

 

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the ketchup, tomato sauce, brown sugar, wine vinegar, molasses, liquid smoke and butter. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, celery seed, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to low, and simmer for up to 20 minutes. For thicker sauce, simmer longer, and for thinner, less time is needed. Sauce can also be thinned using a bit of water if necessary. Brush sauce onto any kind of meat during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

 

 
Photograph by Hans Gissinger

Ice cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for…ice cream! 

Ice cream is the iconic summer snack for kids across America.  This frozen treat’s roots can be traced back to King Tang (A.D. 618-97) of Shang, China, who created ice and milk concoctions.  From there new ices, sherbets and milk ices were developed and served to royalty, since ice cream used to be considered a delicacy.  In the United States, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson served ice cream when entertaining guests.  Today ice cream comes in all sizes and forms: from Dippin’ Dots to Japanese mochi to extra large banana splits.

 

According to Travel and Leisure the best ice cream shop in the country is Richardson’s Ice Cream in Middleton, Mass.  Richardson’s has a long history making homemade ice cream, and they now feature over 80 ice cream and frozen yogurt flavors.  They also have a create-your-own ice cream menu with their customers’ fantasy flavors.  Also on Travel and Leisure’s list is Ici Ice Cream in Berkeley, Calif., which was started by a former pastry chef.  This modern parlor stands out with its gourmet delicacies like chocolate swirl bombes (homemade ice cream cakes) and brandied cherry ice cream scoops.  From classic ice cream cones to gourmet creations, there is a form of ice cream for just about anyone.

 

Do you have a favorite local ice cream shop?  What’s your favorite ice cream scoop?


 
(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

 

Civil Rights comes to life in Washington, D.C.

Nancy Stoler, who has led 16 tours with Smithsonian Student Travel, recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C. Here she shares the powerful experience her group had while meeting with their congresswoman. 

Each year when planning for our 8th grade trip to Washington, D.C., I wonder who we may meet, or what unusual experience we might have.  While visiting Washington in May, 2010, we did have a powerful experience while meeting with our Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).

Representative John Lewis (D-GA) was walking by, and Congresswoman Giffords asked him to say a few words to our group.  He did more than that, and for the time he was with us, I felt as though the pages of our history book came alive.  We had just finished a Civil Rights unit in class before our trip, and it brought tears to my eyes for our group to meet someone who was so involved and well known in this subject.

He explained that he had marched for the right to vote, he was a Freedom Rider on the buses that crossed interstate lines, he demonstrated in sit-ins and had even been arrested more than 40 times during that period in American history.  However, I believe the highlight of meeting him was when he talked about being on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.  His staffers had posters with the pictures of some of these events that they showed us.

This was a teaching moment unlike any I have ever had.  It is because we take these trips that our students can witness history with their own eyes.  They truly have memories that will last a lifetime.

 
Nancy Stoler and her group with John Lewis

The Cold War

One of the most significant battles the United States ever fought never involved the battlefield. From the end of World War II until the late 1980s, the United States and the Soviet Union were engaged in what we know as the Cold War. As the two superpowers battled for domination, the course of American history was influenced in ways that still affect us today.

Did you know?

·         Our interstate highway system is a result of Cold War tensions.  In the early 20^th century, our roads were not standardized or necessarily efficiently connected across states.  On June 29, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 which called for the building of a national, interstate highway system.  The highways were not simply designed to help Americans travel home for the holidays – the network of roads was designed specifically to facilitate the evacuation of cities in case of Soviet attack.  Also, the roads were purposely built wide enough to allow troop movement into cities and to provide runways for military aircraft of the day.

·         American architecture of the mid-20^th century was influenced by the Cold War.  Most new buildings, especially government buildings, were built out of concrete, with few windows.  It was believed that concrete buildings would stand the best chance of survival during a nuclear attack.  Most buildings were also constructed angled away from the city-center – an additional tactic to survive an atomic blast wave.

·         “Nuclear fear” dominated the minds of American families during the Cold War.  Public buildings throughout the country were designated official “fallout shelters” in case of attack.  In reality, these shelters would have done little to protect people from nuclear blasts and fallout – they were brick high schools, building basements and community centers.  Many buildings across the United States still bear the official “Fallout Shelter” sign above entrances.

 

The Cold War unofficially ended on 11/9/89, with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

 

Photo credit: Gerard Malie/AFP via Time.com

2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee

How do you spell…ratatouille?  Your word is…ambidextrous.

 

Today, 273 spellers will be competing in the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee, which takes place at the Grand Hyatt Washington in downtown Washington, D.C.  The National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion that is administered as a non-profit by E.W. Scripps Company and local sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Department of Defense Schools in Europe, the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, New Zealand and South Korea.

Many people have seen the films “Akeelah and the Bee,” which portrays a young African-American girl from Southern California who makes her way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and “Spellbound,” a documentary following eight of the 1999 spelling bee competitors.  From watching these two films, you can see the various backgrounds these young students come from. 

This year the 273 contestants represent the greatest number of United States-based spellers in the history of the National Spelling Bee, and there are slightly more boys (144) in the competition than girls (129).  The 2010 spellers range in age from 8-years-old to 15-years-old, but the average age of a 2010 speller is 13-years-old.  At least 20 of the spellers have had a relative compete in the national finals, and there is one four-year Scripps National Spelling Bee repeater, 10 three-year repeaters and 45 two-year repeaters.  Three of the 2009 championship finalists are competing this year as well.  Surprisingly, when asked how they trained for the National Spelling Bee, they said they received coaching solely from their parents, siblings and friends.  The 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee finals will air on ABC at 8:00 EST tonight.

 
Vanya Shivashankar is the 2010 National Spelling Bee's youngest contestant
Photo credit: Ricky Carioti-The Washington Post

America's most interesting hotels

As I was researching places to go for my own travels, I came across an article that lists America's most interesting hotels.  From the the dog lover's dream hotel (complete with a fire hydrant toilet) in Cottonwood, Idaho, to various hotels in trees, it seems like hotels have come up with something to offer anyone.  My favorite from the list is Jules' Undersea Lodge, Key Largo, Florida.  To stay at this hotel, you first need to scuba dive down to your room; it sounds like you’re traveling to Atlantis!  This hotel was actually an underwater laboratory, La Chalupa research laboratory, which is located 21 feet underwater.  Once in their rooms, guests can look out the window to see parrotfish, anemones, angelfish and barracudas.

Another favorite hotel of mine listed is the Liberty Hotel in Boston, where Smithsonian Student Travel’s headquarters are located.  This swanky new hot spot is actually a jail turned upscale hotel (the old Charles Street Jail to be precise, which housed famous inmate Malcom X) .  Liberty’s cleverly named restaurants, CLINK, Alibi and Scampo, offer some of the trendiest dining in Boston.  It’s quite a different atmosphere at the Liberty from some of the other top ten hotels listed, like the Quaker Square Hotel in Akron, Ohio, where you can sleep in the silos that once held your breakfast cereal.

 

 
Images from the Liberty Hotel and CLINK in Boston, MA