Field Trip: National Portrait Gallery and Botanical Gardens
Taking Shelter from the Rain
Rachel (Mom to an Oak): It was a grey day in DC, but a great day to visit the hot tropical rain forests and dry desert environments in the greenhouses of the Botanical Gardens. We saw huge yellow cacao pods hanging from branches, ferns from the time of the dinosaurs, and cacti larger than small children. Also here for the holidays: a miniature train and a million poinsettias!
Abe Lincoln, Oaks, and Acorns, Deep in Thought
At the National Portrait Gallery, the children noticed how the sitter’s pose can help communicate his inner life. What is President Lincoln thinking about? Other objects in a portrait can also tell us about the sitter. The Oaks and Acorns observed a portrait of George Washington Carver that shows the famous botanist pollinating a lily. They also studied an autobiographical quilt made by Faith Ringgold, and imagined and drew themselves flying through the air, just as Faith did.
