Some of America’s most iconic monuments reside in Washington, D.C. For students new to the area, the magnitude and beauty of these structures can be overwhelming, but with a little excavation, those very structures reveal layers of stories that are even more commanding. Telling these stories to middle schoolers helps turn sightseeing into relevant lessons.
The Lincoln Memorial’s Forgotten Scar
Visitors to the memorial are familiar with it as a site of speeches and symbolism but may not be aware that it was accidentally damaged during World War II. In 1942, a misfired anti-aircraft gunshell hit the memorial’s stone, leaving scars that are still faintly visible today. It is also a reminder that history can be turbulent even to the monuments of great leaders.
The Washington Monument’s Abandoned Vision
It is now wreathed in Weimar laurel and watched over by a massive obelisk, but the design was intended to feature a glorious monument surrounded by columns and statues. A lack of funding led to a long interruption in construction, and a color difference in the stone is still visible about a third of the way up. This visible change informs students that tenacity, even with incomplete ideas, can produce iconic outcomes.
THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL: A Student’s Dream
When a 21-year-old architecture student entered the national design competition, she didn’t realize her vision would reshape memorials as we know them. Her idea of a reflective black granite wall with the name of every fallen soldier etched into it proved initially controversial but is now one of the most moving sites in the world. Visitors frequently leave letters, medals, and flowers at the wall, forming a living archive of personal remembrance.
The Stories Students Carry Home
For those middle schoolers, these “untold stories” prompt even larger questions: Who gets to determine what a memorial looks like? Then why do we create them in the first place? What do we elect to remember? Teachers can transform a routine stroll across the National Mall into a history lesson about democracy, memory, and resilience.
Tips for Teachers and Chaperones
Tell Students to Look for Details: From the shade of a stone to names engraved in granite, ask students to look beyond the obvious.
Tie to Learning: Make each memorial connect to learning about the Civil War, Founding Fathers, or Vietnam War.
Discuss Personal Reactions: Ask students to write about how the design of each memorial made them feel.
Monuments are not just stone and steel. They are stories, some secret, some painful, all worth telling. Teachers can use these lesser-known facts to help students see D.C.’s memorials like living history lessons.
Don’t just visit the monuments—uncover their hidden stories. Let Student Adventures design a trip that helps your students see beyond the stone. Start your journey now at StudentAdventures.org