A rite of passage that has gone on for decades, the fifth and sixth graders toured the state capitol building on May 7.
In the capitol rotunda, Brady Hahn and Bree Meyer’s sixth graders met district 22 senator Rich Draheim of the Cleveland community and district 22B representative Terry Steir. After a brief talk, where the legislators told the students what they do when they are not in St. Paul, they held a Q & A session. The legislators gave each student a USA flag pin.
The students especially enjoyed climbing the spiraling stairs to the south portico and seeing the gilded quadriga (four horses pulling chariot) up close.
A trip highlight for fifth grader Kenzie Sandhurst was the governor’s office. She was impressed with its Victorian style, in all its excessiveness.
“It was when too much was too much, but it was never enough.”
On the way to St. Paul, the students visited the Traverse de Sioux treaty site near St. Peter.
The fifth and sixth grade classes travel to the state capitol every other year. In prior years, they have also visited Fort Snelling and the Minnesota History Center.
The top photo is courtesy of Bree Meyer.