Virtual Field Trip: Monticello

Ariel was our tour guide for a one-hour there-and-back field trip (via Skype) to Monticello, on Wednesday.  She introduced us to Thomas Jefferson and his major accomplishments.  Then she gave us a tour through parts of the house, showing us some important artifacts and features along the way.

We were able to see the elk antlers sent to Jefferson by Meriwether Lewis.  We saw Jefferson's polygraph machine, as well as some of the portraits and busts of his family and friends.  Finally, we saw the bed where he died on July 4, 1826.

This was an interesting trip, because Ariel allowed us to ask questions along the way and, to a certain extent, direct our own tour.

We haven't been officially introduced to the third president in our class studies, but this gave us enough of a taste for the next few weeks to get us more interested.

I signed off with Ariel by reminding her we loved Jefferson so much that we named the Missouri state capital after him.