The fifth graders spent an action-packed Thursday and Friday first driving to the Oklahoma State Capitol, meeting representative Tad Jones (R-Claremore), and getting the royal tour of the building. They sat in while the House of Representatives was in session, viewed the Senate and Supreme Court rooms, and learned about various statues and historic photographs that adorn the capitol walls. They even got a special treat when a state trooper with her K-9 gave them an impromptu talk about working with her bomb-sniffing dog. Don't worry; they were safe! There were no threats, as it was just a routine walk through.
After the capitol tour, they had lunch at the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial site. It was very moving to sit under the Survivor Tree, read the inscription on the building left by Team 5 during search and rescue, and hear all the details about April 19, 1995, from a Forest Ranger. The students weren't even born when the bombing happened, but they will never forget being there and adding their finger prints to the 9:03 (after the bombing) wall.
Then it was on to the Sam Noble Museum where the favorite room had to be the dinosaurs. Several students remarked about how the information in the museum was wrong. According to creationists, the dinosaurs didn't live millions of years ago like many scientists think. The other favorite room was probably the DNA exhibit where they promoted evolution, but the children weren't phased. Being strong in their faith, and knowing who created them, they continued through the exhibits.
Then it was on to Duncan, Oklahoma, to hop the Amtrak train and ride it back to Ardmore. None of the children had ever ridden a train before, but they were more excited about using the bathroom (with an extremely loud flush) than they were about looking out the window!
They got an early start Friday morning and went to the Chisolm Museum, where they participated in an interactive school program. They learned about Kentucky Daisy, who leapt from a moving locomotive so she could get some land in the first land run. Did she do it? You betcha, and she even scared off someone trying to steal her land. They learned about Chisolm, the trader, and how his trail back and forth from Texas to Kansas became used by the cattle drive cowboys who ran steer from Texas to Kansas because beef sold for $40 a head up north instead of $2 in Texas.
Student also made batik art and had their own land run, learning in the process how the government caved into the Kansas Boomers for land, but then opened up the unassigned lands for a land run. But after the first land run, the government took more land away from the Indians and had several more land runs for settlers. The roaming life of the Indians was gone. They were forced to settle on their own lands and live like the white men.
Everyone, including Mrs. Weir and the chaperones, returned to Tulsa safe, exhausted, and filled with much more knowledge and awe for the land, our government, and the people of Oklahoma.
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