The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame

Yesterday, I accompanied Summer's 3rd grade class on a field trip to the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. Let me say, it was one of the best field trips I have ever been on. If you have the chance to take a trip down there, it is definitely worth your time. They offered a very nice balance of teaching the kids about teamwork and simple machine, allowing them to tour and interact with the exhibits, and letting them burn off some energy.

These are Summer's two good friends in her class, Ellie and Jessica. Together I call them The Gigglers. You will probably see a lot of them on here because if it is during school hours, these three are inseparable.

This is the media area of the Hall of Fame. It displays the work of Virginians who have been important to the world of sports reporting, whether it be print, video, radio, or online media. This exhibit was super interactive and the kids even got the chance to record themselves announcing a football game and then hear it played back.

For one phase of the tour, the kids went into a "classroom" where they got a lesson on simple machines and how they are encountered in every day life. The lesson ended with a game show type activity with Acti-Voter controllers that was a lot of fun.

Bryce, Fisher, Jackson, Gabe, and Andrew. The three in the middle are the boy version of the Gigglers. All six of them generally sit at the same table, which makes for a very lively lunch period.

Some love for The Admiral!

There is even a NASCAR exhibit at the museum, whose centerpiece is an actual race car driven by Ricky Rudd (Hands Off Kiddies!). Then the tour guide whipped out a bag of tokens and the kids all got to take a spin on the simulators.

After finishing the tour of the exhibits, it was time for the kids to burn off some of that energy!

Summer managed a six and a half foot vertical jump in skinny jeans!

Climbing the steps of Fed-Ex Field on the elliptical.

Basketball! This guy has the best job in the museum!