Plan Your Day at the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian consist of serveral museums; each museum you could spend an entire day viewing the collections. You will only have a few hours to visit everything. Without a plan your visit can be very overwhelming. My suggestion to you is to talk to your friends on the trip to decide what is important to each of you and then move quickly so that you can accomplish your goals. If you have any specific questions, about the Smithsonians you can let Mrs. Sandy or Ms. Addie know and we will help you.
Use the website and click on the different museums to get some ideas of what you want to see. If you have any questions, let me know...I will try to help you out.
I know...it's tough to decide right now, but keep in mind you only have a little time. The museums are spread out; plus you have to go through security at each one. You will have to go with a game plan!
Here is a brief discription of each museum:
--Smithsonian Castle Completed in 1855, the original Smithsonian Institution Bldg., popularly known as "The Castle" is a good place to start any tour of the Smithsonian museums. The Castle features two orientation theaters, numerous interactive information components, and scale models of monumental Washington.
--Smithsonian Hirshorn Museum & Sculpture Garden View 19th and 20th century painting and sculpture in a striking cylindrical structure and an adjoining sculpture garden.
--Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum Contains 23 galleries showcasing the evolution of aviation and space technology, including the original 1903 Wright Flyer, Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis, John Glenn's Friendship 7 space capsule, Apollo 11 command module and a space station.
--National Museum of the American Indian -The sixteenth museum of the Smithsonian Institution, the NMAI is the first national museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and arts of Native Americans.
--Smithsonian National Gallery of Art - one of the world's great art museums with an extensive collection of Western
European, American, Old Masters, Modern, and Contemporary works.
--Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History dedicated to understanding the natural world and our place in it, this museum boasts more than 81 million items.
--Smithsonian National Museum of American History more than 3 million artifacts—all true national treasures. From the
original Star-Spangled Banner and Abraham Lincoln’s top hat to Dizzy Gillespie’s angled trumpet and Dorothy’s ruby slippers from “The Wizard of Oz.” Collections form a fascinating mosaic of American life and comprise the greatest single collection of American history.


The link to the Smithsonian is http://www.si.edu/

Your 2011 Chaperones

Sandy Stockwell-Louisiana Youth Tour Director. Sandy is with the Association of Louisiana Electric Cooperatives in Baton Rouge. This is Sandy's 23rd Youth Tour Trip.


















Addie Armato is the Member Services Representative for Pointe Coupee Electric Membership Corporation in New Roads. This is Addie's 5th Youth Tour Trip.

















EmmaLee Tingle is the Communications & Marketing Specialist
for Claiborne Electric Cooperative, Inc. in Homer.















Heath Tingle is EmmaLee's husband. Heath is a Structural Fitter for Zachry Industrial, Inc. in Mansfield.

Help Me Pack for Youth Tour!

The following is a guide to help you pack for your trip to Washington DC. This is only recommendations to help you.

Small Carry On Bag-Pack for Friday, Saturday and Sunday (This bag will be placed under the bus, but you will be able to unload it on Saturday night.)
PJs or something to sleep in for Friday and Saturday night; underwear; swim suit; plastic bag for wet clothes; travel clothes for Saturday and Sunday; comfortable shoes; toiletries.

Bring on the Bus: pillow & blanket; sweatshirt or light jacket; entertainment items; wallet/purse.

Large Suitcase-Pack for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (This bag will be placed under the bus and you will not be able to unload it until we get to DC on Sunday night).

Return Home Carry on Bag-Pack for your return home on Thursday and Friday. Place the rest of your clothes in your large suit case. When we stop on Thursday night at the truck stop you will be able to change into your pjs and then we will stop at a rest area on Friday morning for you to change into some clothes for travel. You will also need your toiletries in your carry on bag.

Clothes List by Day:
Friday-Dress Comfortable, Swimsuit, Night clothes.--Plastic Bag for Wet Swimsuit
Saturday-Travel clothes, Swimsuit and night clothes..--Plastic Bag for Wet Swimsuit
Sunday-Travel clothes, tennis shoes and night clothes.--Hiking Natural Bridges
Monday-Orange LA t-shirt, nice khaki/black slacks or skirt--for Youth Rally; pants/jeans/walking shorts--for touring; tennis shoes; casual outfit for boat cruise; night clothes **Important Notice** if you are applying for Youth Leadership Council then you will need a nice shirt, tie and slacks for guys and a nice skirt/slacks and blouse or dress for ladies for Youth Rally Day.
Tuesday-Green From LA t-shirt; pants/jeans/walking shorts; tennis shoes; night clothes
Wednesday-Blue YT Polo shirt; nice navy, khaki, or black slacks or skirt; tennis shoes/comfortable dress shoes; casual outfit for farewell dance; night clothes.
Thursday-Turquoise iLA t-shirt; pants/jeans/walking shorts; tennis shoes; night clothes for traveling.
Friday-Travel clothes and tennis shoes

Remember the shoes that you bring should not be open toe or flip flops. Also you will want to wear your shoes a good bit before the trip so that they are broken in; otherwise they may cause blisters. Socks are also recommended to prevent blisters.

New Shoes

Just a reminder...if you are planning on getting new shoes for Washington, DC now is the time to do so because you need to break them in before the trip. You do not want to take brand new shoes because we will be doing too much walking, and they may cause blisters. Closed toe tennis shoes are highly recommended. Also if you are planning on buying new clothes, remember your shorts should not be more than 2 inches above your knee. You will need nice shorts or blue jeans for most days. On Monday morning, you will need either black, khaki or navy slacks/skirts for Youth Rally and the same for all day Wednesday when we go to Capitol Hill.