Washington State Capitol

February 8th was Gifted Ed day at the Washington State Capitol. It was great to participate in the discussions about how and why to talk to the legislature to ask that all students get screened for giftedness. We had a good discussion about whether having all students screened in the public school would be a good thing or a bad thing for Seabury. The boys had good observations about how this would help our school, in that more people would be labeled and know to look for a school like us! We wore green scarves all day to show we were there for Gifted Ed day and saw some really great things.

There are 42 steps up to the capitol building. Why? Because Washington was the 42nd state in the US.

The presentation was in the Columbia room. This room has a domed ceiling, and we heard that if you whisper on one side, someone on the other will be able to hear you. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to try since the room was pretty full of people. 

Here we are in the gallery of the House of Representatives. We got to see them vote on a number of bills, including a few about education. There are 98 representatives in the Washington State government, two from each district. 

We also watched some votes in the Senate too. There, each person was called individually and answered yea or nay. In the House, however, they used a board seen in the background here. Each person submitted their vote on a machine at their desk and it came up automatically. The boys figured that it was easier to take an oral vote in the Senate since there are only 49 people. They also conjectured that since the Lieutenant Governor who presides over the Senate is blind, it is better to vote orally.

While waiting for our tour to start, we went outside to see a rally for early childhood education happening on the steps of the capitol. While he was hard to see, we did hear Governor Jay Inslee speak!

The metal doors on the capitol are very impressive and show many aspects of life in our state. 

This GIANT chandelier hanging from the rotunda can hold a Mini Cooper car!

Finally, the boys were able to relax on this furniture that is original (although has been recovered) to the capitol. This was in the ballroom where the Governor's Ball still takes place!

We had a great time seeing how bills are passed. Did you know that only bills that are guaranteed to pass are actually voted on? One of our representatives met with us lunch and told us that!