Educational Travel Blog | From Sea to Shining Sea

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and for many people it is a holiday filled with tradition.  Surprisingly this is one holiday that Americans share common traditions, and every year on the fourth Thursday in November you will find many participating in similar activities. What are your favorite Thanksgiving Traditions? Here are a few common traditions:

Traveling to See Family and Friends:

One of the highlights of Thanksgiving is getting together with family and friends. Many people spend a lot of time in cars, trains or planes in order to spend the holiday with those they love. Thanksgiving is actually the busiest travel day of the year!  Spending time with those family and friends is worth the hectic travel that surrounds Thanksgiving.

Favorite Foods: 

Thanksgiving certainly does not miss the mark for outstanding food.  Turkey seems to be the most popular item that sits in the center of many people’s tables, but turkey is certainly not served alone! Traditional items that are found to be placed around the table are the stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes. Don’t forget to save room for dessert – pie is often a popular item and most traditionally you’ll see apple, pumpkin and pecan.

Tracking internet trends related to Thanksgiving food has become increasingly popular over the past couple of years.  Websites have been able to track their traffic around the holiday and are able to identify what Americans search for during the season.  For example in 2009 by the Wednesday before Thanksgiving at 9 P.M., 785,000 people had looked up turkey recipes on AllRecipes.com. Thanksgiving cooking habits can now be tracked for the masses, which may help businesses focus on exactly what their consumers are looking for.

Lending a Helping Hand: 

Thanksgiving traditionally is a popular time that many Americans take the time to give back to their community and reach out to others in need.  Opportunities that you can participate in around the holiday season are serving food at a homeless shelter, collecting donations for shelters and also running a canned food drive.

Televised Traditions:

Many Americans will turn on their televisions at some point of the day whether it is to watch the famed New York City Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or to relax and watch football games.

Shopping:

Thanksgiving tends to mark the start of a holiday shopping frenzy! Black Friday, which is the Friday after Thanksgiving, has deals publicized for two weeks leading up to the day and stores open especially early for their “door buster” deals. In recent years Cyber Monday has grown popular as well with online shopping deals.  Be sure not to miss these dates for exceptional deals!

Happy Holiday and Safe Travels!


(Food Styling Sheryl Julian, Lisa Falso; Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Fundraising Ideas For Class Trips

Congratulations! You’ve picked a tour. Now you just need to take care of one pesky detail: paying for it.

Stuck on where to start? Below are a few tried-and-true ways to raise money.

Products 
Selling easy-to-transport items like candy bars is a quick way to drum up sales. People tend to buy more than one item if they’re small and affordable. Have customers come to you by setting up a table outside a library or grocery store (after getting permission).

Timely tip: Take advantage of the upcoming holiday season to sell magazine subscriptions as gifts!

Local businesses
A lot of small, local businesses like to demonstrate that they give back to the community. Write a letter explaining that you are fundraising for your trip and that you’d appreciate any assistance the business could give you – this can include donated items for a silent auction, or letting you put a marked tip jar by the cash register.

Chain restaurants
Larger, national businesses like Ben & Jerry’s, Chipotle and Pizza Hut regularly offer their services to fundraisers – either by donating a percentage of their profits for a specific date and time, or donating a certain amount of money for a specific menu item. This is a smart way to raise money, because the restaurant gets more customers when you bring them in, and your friends and family get food and the satisfaction of helping you!

Scholarships
Scholarship opportunities are a great option for students who need assistance to pay for their educational tour. The Smithsonian Student Travel Liberty Scholarship is a great option for our travelers.  Find out more about our travel scholarship.

For more information about fundraising ideas be sure to visit our website.

Solar Panels on the White House

As part of the “going green” initiative that’s been sweeping the nation lately, the Obamas have installed solar panels on the White House's roof. Using solar power to generate electricity is a clean and efficient way of obtaining energy without using up natural resources. You may admire that the first family is leading by example, but will you follow suit?

Here’s some motivation: 

• Fossil fuels deplete over a relatively short period of time. Power from solar energy is viable for several billion years.

• Solar power has the potential to supply over 1,000 times the total consumption of energy.

• When solar panels are combined with storage or other energy sources, they can provide continuous power (meaning your house won’t suddenly go dark as soon as night falls!).

• Almost all U.S. regions have useful solar resources that can be accessed.

Most importantly:

• The federal government will pay for up to 65% of the upfront cost of installation, and offers a 30% tax credit to reward citizens for going green.

Equipping your house with solar panels may be less expensive than you think, and it will certainly cut down your energy costs in the long run. 

Top Five Architectural Sites in Chicago

The Windy City showcases some of the top architectural talent in the country, and is a perfect fit for students interested in city planning and design. Below are just a few must-see sites!

1.  Water Tower (1869) W.W. Boyington:
The Chicago fire of 1867 miraculously left this 205ft/62m high water tower and pumping station intact. The building resembles a medieval fortress and is a great example of Gothic style architecture. A tourist information office is now located in the preserved interior.

2.  Reliance Building (1895) Charles Atwood:
This national historic landmark is widely regarded as the first skyscraper to feature a façade made mostly of glass – a concept that took 30 years to gain popularity, but is now present in most modern design.

3.  Frank W. Thomas House (1901) Frank Lloyd Wright:
The Thomas house, located in Oak Park, showcases Wright’s first use of his famous Prairie style of architecture – elevated rooms, low horizontal lines and open interior spaces – as well as his first all- stucco structure.

4.  The Farnsworth House (1950) Ludwig Mies van der Rohe:
Before building of the Farnsworth House began, its one-room, streamlined design of steel and glass was hailed as an architectural masterpiece. The Museum of Modern Art in New York displayed a model of the building in 1947, three years before its completion.

5.  Willis Tower (1973) Bruce Graham:
Formerly known as the Sears Tower, Graham’s soaring skyscraper was the world’s tallest building for 23 years, and is still America’s tallest building. The top of this 110-story architectural marvel grants an unparalleled view of Chicago – don’t miss it!

The NMSA Conference in Baltimore

Smithsonian Student Travel is proud to attend the 37^th Annual Conference and Exhibit of the National Middle School Association. The conference is a gathering place for educators – from principals to school counselors – who are responsible for inspiring students grades 5-9 to love and appreciate learning.

The three-day event in Baltimore, Maryland features over 500 sessions on topics such as:

• Adolescent Development

• College Readiness

• Testing

• School Climate and Safety

• Teaching Strategies

We’ll be hosting session 2509 – Making 21st Century Skills Come Alive Inside and Outside the Classroom.

 Thursday's General Session opens with keynote speaker Dr. Ben Carson, Sr., a full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery, and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine who started a $1,000 college scholarship program for deserving teens.

Saturday’s Closing General Session features Bill and Cal Ripken, who will be speaking together about the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation that they started in memory of their father.  They will also talk about the work of the foundation and their focus on underserved communities and schools. 

The conference promises to be extremely valuable to middle school educators from around the country. Stop by booth number 602 to learn more about student travel to Washington, D.C., New York City and more.