Students and parents from Cambridge fourth grade classes took a field trip to our State Capitol on Monday, May 15th. We had the opportunity to walk around the capitol building exploring the Treasurer's Office, Secretary of State's Office, and then on to a guided tour.
Our tour guide showed us the Great Seal of the State of California
and explained what each item on our seal symbolized. He took us
through the Rotunda, and then on to the Senate chambers. The Senate
was not in session, but we were able to take a seat in the gallery
while our guide explained that the lay-out of the chamber. We
learned that the latin phrase on the wall of the chamber means
that "It is the duty of a Senator to protect the
liberty of the People".
In the chamber there is a picture of George Washington, with a gold replica of "Minerva" on the top of the picture. We had earlier learned that Minerva is the Goddess of Wisdom who is shown on our State Seal. She was chosen because, according to mythology, Minerva was born fully grown and she is representative of the fact that California became a state without ever having been a territory - so California was born fully grown!
After our tour, we were able to enjoy our lunch on the Capitol
stairs. Fortunately, the rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy
some outside time. We walked to the Vietnam Memorial and paid
tribute to our fallen soldiers.
Students learned that each name on the memorial represented a
soldier from California who lost their life in the Vietnam conflict.
Some other activities were: watch fish swim in the pond, petting the horse of the mounted policeman in the park, playing with the squirrels, walking through the rose garden, looking at statues in the park.
