Historic Virginia Immersive Experience
The Forest Area School District provided an immersive learning opportunity for 19 students the week of April 1st – 5th, 2024. Students from both East and West Forest visited many historic sites in Norfolk, Virginia, Virginia Beach, Virginia, Virginia’s Historic Triangle, Manassas, Virginia, and Sharpsburg, Maryland. Prior to the trip, students completed three rigorous academic projects, including a research paper on the Jamestown Settlement, a constructed model of one of the locations that was visited on the trip, and a slideshow presentation on Virginia’s Eastern Coast. On the first day of the trip, students toured the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse which was financed by President George Washington and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. In addition, they were able to see the New Cape Henry Lighthouse, Fort Story, and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Over the course of the second day, students toured many exhibits featuring animals from across the world at the Virginia Zoo, toured a World War II battleship, the USS Wisconsin, and witnessed new flora at the Botanical Gardens. To conclude the day, everyone tried new culinary tastes at a delicious seafood restaurant on the beach. Day three brought students to Virginia’s Historic Triangle. They traveled up Virginia’s peninsula to Yorktown and went through the significant locations of that siege which witnessed Great Britain formally surrender to General George Washington. Next they stood in Colonial Williamsburg inside both the Governor’s Palace and the first functioning legislature in the New World, the House of Burgesses. Before departing the Triangle, students went to Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in the new world. There they learned about the lives of settlers and reviewed in detail the history of Captain John Smith, Pocahontas, and John Rolfe. Upon leaving Jamestown, students spent the rest of the day at Kings Dominion after physics instruction about how roller coasters are designed and built. Finally, on the last day of the trip, the group traveled to the hallowed ground of Antietam National Battlefield and Manassas National Battlefield to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the United States of America.
Shown here surrounding the statue of Pocahontas are: (left to right) Harley Ellenberger, Logan Kline, Jordon Kostenbauder, Bobby Payne, Hazel Hilyer, Macalie Hoffmann, Erika Hart, Ayla Reese, Zach Carll, Jayden McKeel, Colton Kuntz, Esther Forker, Colter Bayle, Mitchell Bawden, Nate Dietrich, Tori Brown, Katie Salsgiver, Jessica Culver and Aletta Summers.
