State Capital

The big field trip of the year for the 4th graders, and really the whole elementary school, is a 75 min bus trip up to Austin to see the Capital and the Bob Bullock State History Museum.  I was fortunate enough to be one of the few parents selected to go.  The school hired 6 charter buses for the ride so we had a nice air conditioned ride complete with a movie.  I had told Kirstine that she didn't have to worry about hanging out with boring old Mom but she was glued to my side the entire day, it turned into a good Mom/Daugher day.  I know very little about Texas history so I told Kirstine she had to tell me everything she has learned throughout the day.

Our first stop was the Capital building.  The Capital is in downtown Austin next to the University of Texas.  The building is just gorgeous.

Texas State Capital Building

It is the largest Capital building in the United States, including the Federal one, and is the 2nd tallest Capital building.

Kirstine's 4th grade class in front of the Capital.

Inside the Capital is even more beautiful.  The building is very old, about 150 years.

The rotunda in the Capital.

The rotunda is over 200 ft high.  The star at the very top is 8' across and each letter is 3' tall.

View from the newer part of the basement looking up at the rotunda and the "lady" on the top.

Over the years the Capital wasn't big enough to house all the government officials and their employees so they had to dig a basement.  Basements in the Hill Country of Texas are non-existent since the ground is solid rock.

Kirstine as the "Lady" on the top of the building.

In the Land Office, looking through the telescope up at the Capital.

"Houston... the Eagle has landed."

The Bob Bullock Museum was amazing.  It is 3 floors of history from 1520 to present day.  In the museum we also watched a 4D movie on the founding fathers and mothers of Texas that was very neat.  I took the picture of Kirstine in front of this exhibit because she was so tickled that the first word from space was Houston, a city in her home state.