The junior class went on a field trip to the National World War I Museum and Memorial on Oct. 20. The trip was for U.S. history and AP U.S. history classes. Both the teachers and students really enjoyed the experience due to the fact that students were able to get out of the classroom for a day and really connect with the history that they’ve been studying in class.

“My favorite part is watching students interact with history,” said U.S. History teacher Matt Rice. “It’s one thing to stand in front of a class and talk about it while they’re nodding off and falling asleep, but it’s another when they’re face to face with it.”

Going to the museum gave students a great opportunity to be in contact with artifacts and learn stories from World War I that improved their understanding of what happened in that time period.

“Everything in that museum felt as authentic as can be. I loved seeing all the new inventions and weaponry for that era,” Junior Raul Sanchez said.

Rice believes that the museum helped increase students’ understanding of World War I and how it affected everyone’s lives in the past and to this day.

“The museum and all its artifacts can tell more stories in the two hours that we’re there than I can in a three-week unit,” Rice said.

Students agree that going to the museum was a great way to open their eyes to how the world was during the war and overall, they think it was a great learning experience.

“I learned about how much WWI has impacted us today and our relationships between countries and our role in warfare,” Sanchez said.

The goal that Rice hoped to achieve with the trip is to get the students out of the classroom and to learn about World War I first hand. Rice hopes what the students took away from the museum is the overall magnitude of the war.

“I think it’s easy as we get further away from it to not realize how big of a deal it was and how many lives were involved around the world,” Rice said.