Educational Travel Blog | From Sea to Shining Sea

The Smithsonian Student Travel Liberty Scholarship

Want an extra boost in paying for your tour?  Apply for the Smithsonian Student Travel Liberty Scholarship. 

We firmly believe that every student should be able to discover our country.  We understand the importance of educational travel, and we also understand the cost at which this comes, which is why we are awarding $10,000 to deserving students this year.  The scholarship recipients will be able to put this money toward their schools’ class trip. 

To apply for the Smithsonian Student Travel Liberty Scholarship, simply submit a response to the question “Why is traveling on this tour important to you?”  The essay should be no more than 150 words, and you can email it to liberty@SmithsonianStudentTravel.com.  To print an entry form and find out more information about the Liberty Scholarship, as well as other scholarship programs, visit the student travel scholarship section of our website. 

Museums in New York City

New York City is filled with museums that tell the city’s life story, and by visiting them you can see the evolution of New York from when it was settled in 1609 to the present day.  Here is a quick overview of some of the museums you can visit when traveling to New York:

Liberty Island and Ellis Island:  Take the ferry to both Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  Here you can view the iconic Statue of Liberty and visit the federal immigration processing center.  It is estimated that 40% of Americans can trace their ancestry through Ellis Island.

Museum of Jewish Heritage:  This museum is said to be a living memorial of the Holocaust.  Through personal objects, photos and films you can learn about Jewish life in Europe and the United States. Visit each floor of the museum, which are separated into chronological themes: Jewish Life a Century Ago, The War Against the Jews and Jewish Renewal.

The Skyscraper Museum:  New York City is famous for its skyline. This museum may be small, but it is packed with information about the skyscrapers and the cities changing visual landscape through the years.

National Museum of the American Indian:  This museum, which is one part of the Smithsonian Institution, is the first national museum “dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history and arts of Native Americans.”

Fraunces Tavern Museum:  Not only is this a tavern where you can enjoy a good meal, but it is a museum as well.  Tavern-keeper Samuel Fraunces purchased the tavern in 1762 when the city had a population of only 13,000. The tavern lets visitors experience pre-Revolutionary New York.

Lower East Side Tenement Museum:  This museum preserves a slice of history as it tells its immigrant inhabitants’ stories. Through the use of photos, oral stories and personal mementos, six apartments were recreated to look like those families that actually lived in the tenements from 1863 to the mid-1930s. 

Museum of American Financial History:  New York City is a major financial center: “The Money. The Power. The History.” is the sign that you see as you enter the museum on Wall Street.  Here you can learn about the history of Wall Street, entrepreneurs and legendary bank robbers. 

South Street Seaport Museum:  The New York City waterfront has played a role from immigration to trans-Atlantic shipping.  This museum is the site of the original port of New York and has over 20,000 paintings, ship models, and historical objects that depict the history. 

 

Liberty Island - Photo: Andrew Henderson/The New York Times)

 

Fraunces Tavern Museum - Photo: Robert Caplin /The New York Times)

Nine myths about Boston

Many of us hear about Boston in reference to American History, through the news and media and from family and friends that traveled there.  Ever wonder if some of the things you hear are actually true? Turns out not all fun facts about Boston are true.  Here are nine myths about Boston.

1) Nobody calls it “Beantown”: Baked beans were popular in the Colonial times but it is definitely not the staple it used to be.  Today, there is no food product that Boston is known for, although many argue the city’s clam chowder and seafood is famous.

2) America’s worst drivers? Nope: Rumor has it Boston has the worst drivers, but actually Massachusetts finished in front of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey this year when testing driver knowledge.

3) Yield at your own risk: Everyone gets confused in the complicated round-a-bout roadways known as “rotaries,” but despite what it may appear to be, the motorists in the circle already have the right of way.

4) Coach won’t be there: When traveling to Boston, people are sure to stop by “Cheers” made popular by the old TV sitcom, but unfortunately they won’t know your name and the fictional Red Sox pitcher from the show won’t be there.

5) The easiest impossible ticket in town: The Boston Red Sox have sold out for over 500 consecutive games; however, tickets are not impossible to get.  The box office will often have tickets on hand the day of the game and tickets can also be purchased from secondary ticketing markets.

6) Dirty water? Think again: The Boston Harbor at one time was so dirty that is was a presidential campaign issue.  Today the Boston Harbor Cleanup Project has made the harbor a safe place: swimming races are even held in the Charles River.

7) Revolt was no party: The Boston Tea Party was no party.  It was a true act of revolution that submitted all involved to trial and prosecution.  It was not until 50 years later when people could tell the story playfully that it coined the name Boston Tea Party.

8) No Pahking zone: Despite the famous phrase people use to mimic the “Bostonian” accent- you actually cannot “Pahk your cah in the Hahvad Yahd.”

9) Fever Pitch does not accurately portray Boston sports fans: Fever Pitch is a romantic comedy that was released in 2005.  The synopsis focuses around a Red Sox fanatic who is supposed to be a typical Boston fan.  However this movie does not accurately depict the majority of Boston Sports Fans.

 

 (Globe Staff File Photo/David L. Ryan)

 

 

(Globe Staff Photo/David L. Ryan)

 

Feedings at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park

Have you ever wondered what it takes to feed the 2,000 animals living at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park?  In this video Mike Maslanka, head of the Department of Animal Nutrition, discusses the individual diets his staff creates for each of the 400 different animal species at the National Zoo.  The nutritionists truly care about the quality of food they serve to the National Zoo's resident animals: everything they provide at mealtime is the same quality you would find in a restaurant or grocery store.  Often times you can watch feedings, and these are noted in the National Zoo's daily schedule.

Video courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution