We took our last field trip to Madison today to visit the Capitol and the Henry Vilas Zoo. We went to the Capitol first. We've been studying government in Social Studies, including the 3 branches of government. Most specifically we talked about the Senate and the Assembly (Congress), and their roles in helping a bill become a law. Wisconsin has been in the political spotlight a lot over the past year, so interest in our Capitol and all that goes on there was at an ultimate high for many of the kids. I think one of the kids summed it up best when, upon entering the building, she said, "Miss Bongers...this place is beauuuutiful." It really is an amazing building and free to the public! We got our picture taken as soon as we got there, and they had these postcards ready for us by the time we left!
We went to the hearing room first.
In the hearing room, we learned that all the murals on the wall showed different modes of transportation. It also had beautiful skylights.
Then we went into the room where the Senate meets. Wisconsin is divided into 33 Senate districts, so there are 33 chairs in the Senate for each of the senators. We learned that the minority party sits on the inside circle, and the majority party sits on the outside circle. Each state senator's name appears on the back of his or her chair. State senators are not allowed to use ANY technology in this room. Only paper!
Then we went into the Assembly. Each Senate district is divided into three sections which means there are 99 representatives for our state who meet in the Assembly. This room was much bigger than the Senate. We weren't allowed to sit in the chairs in this room!
This is the mural that's painted in the front of the Assembly. You can also see Old Abe Junior, our Civil War mascot, perched front and center. (The real Old Abe was burned in a fire a long time ago!)
In the Assembly they ARE allowed to use technology. Each representative's seat had a set of buttons next to it. This is the big board that lights up to show the room who voted "Yay" (green light) or "Nay" (red light) regarding the proposed legislation.
Here are a few shots from the rotunda (center circle of the Capitol).
Yes, there is a red heart balloon way up there!
Then we went into the governor's office. This is where he holds press conferences and signs bills to become laws. We also learned that none of the fireplaces in the Capitol actually work because so many previous capitol buildings in Wisconsin have had fires or smoke damage.
We each rubbed the badger's nose on the way out of the governor's office for good luck!
After climbing a few more flights of stairs, we got to go up on the Observatory Deck and look out at the beautiful city of Madison! Not a cloud in the sky!
Finally it was time to leave. We looked up at Wisconsin (the statue's name on top of the Capitol) as she points to our nation's Capitol in Washington D.C.
We bussed over to Henry Vilas Zoo to each lunch, and then split up into small groups to tour the zoo.
What a bunch of monkeys... :)
We made a quick stop into the gift shop, where I found a super cute owl.
We also found some fun animal masks that made us laugh!
We had an animal show at noon at the educational center.
We learned about cockroaches...
and blue-tongued skinks...
and Pac-Man frogs!
Then we broke up into our small groups again to see the rest of the zoo exhibits.
I always lead by example... :)
The kids found this egg sitting under a tree near our bus!
It's safe to say it was a busy but great day! Some kids even took a little cat-nap on the 45-minute ride home.
It was a wonderful way to end our school year. We have a half day tomorrow, and these kiddos will officially be fifth graders. UNbelievable.
