The Honors Class of 2021 took a trip to the American Revolution Museum in Philadelphia this past Saturday. My own personal experience started off rough. The bus picked us all up at 9:15 am, but I missed my alarm and woke up at 9:05 am. I threw my clothes on and ran to the bus luckily making it there at exactly 9:15! I slept the whole way to Philly, which was about an hour, and we arrived at the Museum. Inside was very impressive, as I expected given all the commercials I heard about the Museum the year prior. In the museum were maps of fighting routes of the British and America and many figurines depicting issues that you don’t always hear about in High School. There were also movies that really sealed the information. Another feature I appreciated about the American Revolution Museum was the interaction. In the Museum were areas where you could actually touch the history and open cabinets to see items from the times (I always find it interesting to see how items of day to day use developed from then to now). Another area of interaction was the dress up section that was equipped with children’s toys of the time, and ciphers for wartime code. I dressed up with my friends and also enjoyed some time playing with a Jacob’s Ladder and a toy where a ball attached to a string must be caught in a cup (this may sound simple but it is much harder than you think!) My favorite was the story of George Washington’s tent. There was a video that told the story of the man of George Washington: how he stayed on the battlefield with his soldiers and went through everything they did. He camped with the soldiers in tents like the soldiers. When needed, his tent was turned into a battle station. This tent is where some of the greatest moments in American history were planned out, and the most amazing thing was, I got to experience it! At the museum at the end of the video presentation, the projector screen rises and you see the actual tent of George Washington. I really felt like ending with this video was the best way to be able to look back at the Museum and be able to actually put myself in that time: that time of struggle where you are fighting for your life, where everyday is a battle, where there is no cell phone to distract you, where human deliberation and agreement of people of some of the nation’s smartest individuals put their minds together always for the greater of the people. I find it so fascinating to try and put myself in that time more than 200 years ago. I find myself so much more grateful and respectful of American history now than ever before. I went to school at Devon Prep which is right down the road from the Valley Forge Battlefield! I never quite appreciated where I was and the men who probably walked where I did! This trip really opened my eyes, I am excited to go back again and share the experience with my family!