On Oct. 17, 51 students in the International Baccalaureate program took a field trip to Washington, D.C.

One of the core goals of the IB program is to foster a broad understanding of global histories and cultures, so Dr. Larry Penner, head of the IB program at MT, organizes annual enrichment activities that bring learning beyond the classroom.

Upon arrival in D.C., students visited the Library of Congress, the largest research library in the United States, home to millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts. Some of the library’s historical treasures include the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation.

After exploring the Library of Congress, students were given free rein to explore the National Mall, an open park spanning 2.5 miles from the U.S. Capitol building all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. The mall is a symbolic and historical landscape, featuring many of the nation’s most famous monuments, memorials and museums.

Students could visit significant sites like the Washington Monument, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, allowing them to learn about significant people, events and ideals in American history.

The Mall is sprinkled with several Smithsonian museums, such as the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African American History and Culture and the National Air and Space Museum, providing students the opportunity to choose which museums they visited based on the subjects that interest them.

Senior Olivia Heverling chose to visit the National Gallery because she loves “exploring art museums and learning about history through the stories art tells.”

Other students especially enjoyed the National Air and Space Museum. Senior Kate Peers learned “how airlines hired women to be nurses on planes because people felt safer in the presence of women.”

Senior Mersalle Khaliqi claimed the National Museum of the American Indian was her favorite.

“It was highly educational about a commonly forgotten part of American history,” she said.