National History Day in D.C.

What started as a mandatory school project turned a chance to compete on a regional level, then a state level, then a national level. Miriam and her friends Connor and Archimedes chose to participate in National History Day by completing a group performance on the invention of the piano and its impact on music. They took at the school-level competition (there was only one group performance, so first place was the default), first at regionals (there were two group performances there, so regardless they would qualify for state), then first at state (there were three group performances there, so they had a good chance of taking first or second and therefore qualifying for nationals). 

Miriam wasn't sure that she wanted to continue working on a project that she had started months ago and then deal with the stress of traveling across the country and performing in front of judges there, but when both of her partners said they were able to make the trip, she decided to go along with it. 

We had to figure out how to compress the equipment the kids had used for earlier performances since we had brought a mic stand and mic, a rolling Bluetooth speaker, a full-sized music stand, an easel, poster boards and construction lights borrowed from Uncle T so as to make the performance dramatic and so the judges could hear the kids over the piano. For D.C., we brought a much smaller Bluetooth speaker, a collapsible music stand, a wireless lapel mic (that we bought at Binlandia for $7 ... woohoo!), a tiny projector (after the poster boards were remade onto Google Slides), smaller lights, an extension cord, a power strip and charging cords for everything. Remarkably, all of this fit onto my carry-on-sized bag WITH my clothes and toiletries. 

After revising their script and spending time rehearsing, we packed our bags and left home on Sunday, June 9. It took all day to fly from Idaho Falls to Seattle, then wait around for three hours for our flight from Seattle to Baltimore before getting a Lyft to take us to the University of Maryland's campus where Miriam got registered and met up with her partners to rehearse one more time. After that, we got a Lyft to our Airbnb in Silver Springs, Maryland and settled into our cozy basement apartment for the night.

On our flight from Seattle to Baltimore.

Eating dinner while waiting for the rest of the group to show up on campus so the kids could practice. 

Rehearing upstairs at one of the campus dorms.

The big competition for group performances was Monday, June 10. Miriam and her group signed up to compete as early as possible, so they ended up with first time slot at 10 a.m. Miriam and I got a Lyft to campus (our plan was to figure out the public transportation system after her performance) and walked to the building where they were scheduled to perform. As we got closer, people informed us that there was a gas leak on campus caused by the roadwork they were doing. Nobody was allowed in the building Miriam was supposed to perform in as well as a few others nearby. So we settled down and waited for news.

Camped outside the building where Miriam was originally scheduled to perform with her group. 

The kids had planned to show up an hour before their scheduled performance so they could run lines one more time and be ready at 10. So we sat outside the building until 9:45 when we finally received notice that the group performances had been moved to the journalism building. We hiked across campus and found the appropriate building, wondering the whole time if they'd have the piano Miriam had requested in her registration. As a part of their performance, all three kids played the piano to provide background music and demonstrate the importance of dynamics.

When we got to the building, we poked our heads inside the classroom where the kids had been reassigned. No piano. We spoke to the judges and explained how the kids needed a piano and how the kids had specified that they needed a piano. They promised to make a call and get the kids what they needed for their performance.

And then we experienced about the longest six hours of our lives. As we waited for news of when and where a piano would be so our kids could complete the project they'd spent months researching and preparing and that we'd traveled across the country for, we watched some of the other group performances. We played Wordle and Connections. We visited in the lobby. We watched more performances. After the last scheduled performance of the day, the judges kindly asked if the kids would like to do as much of their performance as they could do without a piano as they continued to communicate with NHD officials and campus staff to find a piano. So that's what they did. Whenever it came to a part when someone was supposed to play, the kid who was speaking would say something like, "At this point, Connor would play Canon in D without dynamics." Then they answered the judges' questions.

Miriam performing for the judges without a piano.

The judges kindly listened. They were supportive and sympathetic to our plight. They promised they would continue to work for our kids as they went to lunch. Miriam and I had packed a lunch, so we took it outside to some picnic tables and ate. During all this, I decided to reach out to the Idaho state representative of NHD and let her know our predicament. She double-checked that Miriam had indeed requested a piano for their performance. She talked to some people on her end. Then she informed us that the only requests that NHD can and will fulfill for performances are those based on accessibility: wheelchairs, ASL interpreters, etc. Every costume and prop that the kids want to include in their performance must be brought and carried into the room where they perform by themselves.

We were dumbfounded. Why had Miriam been able to request a piano on the school, regional and state level and had it fulfilled if it was against the rules? Why hadn't somebody known about this rule and informed us ahead of time? Registration was due about two months before the national competition. Why hadn't anyone reading through Miriam's request for a piano notified us that that request would not be fulfilled? I may have shed a few tears in frustration. 

Then we heard from the judges. They had found a piano for us in the basement of a dorm that was under construction. Could we meet them there in a few minutes so the kids could do their full performance? We rushed over. Six hours after their originally scheduled performance time, Miriam, Connor and Archimedes finally got to do what they'd come to do.

Miriam during her speaking part in the basement of the dorm.

After all the waiting and pent-up frustrations, it was a relief. The judges kindly listened through the whole performance and told the kids that they were impressed with their presence and patience.

Instead of spending a morning on campus and having a chill afternoon, Miriam and I spent all day on campus. As a bit of a release, we found the Jim Henson/Kermit the Frog statue on campus and took pictures. (Jim Henson attended the University of Maryland.) Then we figured out the metro passes and rode public transportation for the first (but definitely not last) time back to the Airbnb. We walked to a nearby grocery store and stocked up, then ate some frozen dinners while watching Monk. At 7 p.m. we checked the app and learned that our group didn't advance to the finals, which was a little sad because they had worked so long and hard, but only the top performance from each classroom advanced, so we only had a one in eight chance.

Miriam, Kermy, Andrea, Jim.

On our flight from Seattle to Baltimore.

On Tuesday, June 11, Miriam and I had the full day to ourselves. We boarded the bus and made our way into D.C. to be tourists. Some of our bus transfers were a bit tricky because we're yokels who aren't accustomed to giant bus terminals and the like, but we made it safely into the city. We started by seeing the White House and using the bikeshare system to ride around to the various monuments and memorials at the National Mall.

White House.

Vietnam Memorial.

Lincoln Memorial. When I bought this weird/funny shirt at D.I. I knew it had a special purpose.

WWI Memorial.

We were able to get free scheduled tickets for the Holocaust museum, so we spent a few hours there. At that point, we decided it was time to get Miriam's favorite for dinner: ramen. We rode our bikes a little ways from the Mall to dine, then made our way to a metro station to head back to the Airbnb for the night.

Looking at photographs of a Jewish village's residents. Today there are no Jews who live there because of the Holocaust.

On our flight from Seattle to Baltimore.

Miriam working on her Japanese while riding the metro.

Wednesday, June 12 was much like the previous day. We didn't have anything scheduled with NHD, so we went back into D.C. to spend three hours at the Natural History Museum. Note to self: You could likely spend six hours at this museum if you took the time to read everything. Instead, you should dedicate time to the exhibits you care most about and zip through the others.

Waiting in line outside the museum. They don't open until 10.

About to get pounced on in the mammal exhibit.

Touching a piece of Mars in the space exhibit.

Picking out our favorite selection in each case in the rock/mineral exhibit.

After the museum, we ate a picnic lunch on a bench in the Mall, then walked across to see the Smithsonian Castle (which was closed for renovations) from the outside and enjoy the surrounding gardens. We biked out to the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed some ice cream from a food truck before seeing all the different indoor and outdoor gardens, then we rode bikes to the Library of Congress for our scheduled tour time.

The Smithsonian Castle.

The U.S. Capital as seen on our bike ride.

Inside the Botanical Gardens.

The Library of Congress.

An original Gutenberg Bible in the Library of Congress.

After the museum, we ate a picnic lunch on a bench in the Mall, then walked across to see the Smithsonian Castle (which was closed for renovations) from the outside and enjoy the surrounding gardens. We biked out to the Botanical Gardens and enjoyed some ice cream from a food truck before seeing all the different indoor and outdoor gardens, then we rode bikes to the Library of Congress for our scheduled tour time. It may have been this time headed home that we tried riding the train and learned that our 3-day metro passes that covered the metrorail and buses did not cover the commuter train. Luckily I had the necessary $6 in cash to pay for our ride, although I'm not sure what they would have done if I hadn't. Thrown us off a moving train? 

And while I'm pontificating on the public transportation system of the greater D.C. area, I'd like to say that I did my research, read all the official sites I could find and a few from Reddit, and I still don't understand how it works. We bought our passes, but we didn't swipe them on every bus and metro we got on. Why were we allowed on? Sometimes I'd see people pay for their ride with cash. Sometimes I'd see people swipe their cards like us. Most of the time, people just got on and off and buses without doing anything. Are the buses free? Or maybe they're free within a certain number of stops? How does the bus or the driver keep track of all that?

Anyway, we made it back to the Airbnb, had some dinner and went to bed.

Thursday, June 13 we went back to the University of Maryland campus to watch the award ceremony. We were told to meet outside the indoor arena an hour before the beginning of the ceremony with all the other Idahoans so we could take a group picture and go in together. That meant we needed to be there at 8 a.m. which meant we had to leave the Airbnb at 6:30 in order to ride the buses and get there on time, which we did. Then at 8:15 when there were only a couple of people outside, Maggie changed her mind and we all wandered in on our own time (for those who weren't there at 8). 

There ceremony started with the state parade, which was a madhouse. Basically all the kids from all 50 states (and a few bonus places like Guam and South Korea) made their way onto the outside of the gym floor with flags and props representing their states. They were all packed in like sardines because most of the floor was taken up with crates and sound equipment that had yet to be installed and was roped off in the middle. When the announces on the stage ordered the kids to start moving, it took a long time for it to actually happen. Once a state had made its way all around the gym, they scurried back into the stands. As the floor cleared a little, the other states were able to make a circuit. Eventually they all made it and got back to their seats.

And thus began the longest award ceremony you could possibly imagine  They had to announce all the winners in all the divisions, categories and places. And rather than continuing to announce winners as they waited for each one to get to the stage to receive the medal and shakes all the old official people's hands. Some of these kids were WAAAAY up in the bleachers on the far side of the arena, so it took them a while to get there. I scoffed when I saw that the ceremony was scheduled to take three hours, but they were not exaggerating. Ugh. We knew Miriam's group wouldn't place in their category and division since they hadn't made it to the finals, but we were holding out hope that they'd win one of the special categories. So we sat. And did Wordle and Connections. I did Duolingo. We read. And waited. And waited.

Clara and Miriam holding an Idaho flag as they prepare to participate in the state parade.

When it was obvious that they wouldn't be receiving an award, Miriam and I made our way out of the arena (before the official end of the ceremony) and went to the food court on campus for lunch. Then we went back to the Airbnb to get changed and ready for our last D.C. adventure.

Back when we were working on booking flights and planning our trip schedule, we thought it would be cool if all four of the Praxium kids could do baptisms for the dead in the D.C. temple. (The fourth student was a girl named Clara who made it to nationals with her individual website.) Clara's mom had already made an appointment for her, but when we tried to get one for the other three kids, the time slots were full. (The baptistry of that temple is open for very limited days and times.) We thought that maybe we'd all go to the temple anyway so the kids could walk around it and check out the visitors' center. Maybe they'd even let them participate in baptisms without an appointment. But a few days before we left, Clara's mom checked again and let us know that three openings had cropped up on the one evening we could go. So we snagged them.

Miriam and I were the first ones to get to the temple grounds. We walked around the woodsy grounds for a while, then around the temple itself. It was very hot outside, so we decided it was time to cool off in the visitors' center. The other kids all showed up while we were there, and when it was our appointment time, we went into the temple. Connor's grandparents had come, so our group even had someone to do the baptizing and confirming. We assumed the temple would be very busy since no other appointments were available for that time slot, but the workers asked the grownups if we wanted to participate as well. Connor's mom was baptized, and Clara's mom, Archimedes' grandma (his mother waited outside with her baby) and I were confirmed. It was a beautiful experience for everyone.

Outside the D.C. Temple.

We hitched a Lyft to get back to the Airbnb (public transportation at that time of night wasn't going to work out for us; we would have had to walk a mile and ride for nearly two to get home) and went to bed early because we had an early flight the next day. Our 4:15 Lyft got us to the airport in time to quickly go through security and hang out until we boarded. We had another 3-hour layover in Seattle, so we walked around until it was time to board, then we made it home without further incident besides being tired from an early morning and a long day of travel.

A week or two later, Miriam and her group received the judges' scores and comments. Despite the group not winning the competition, I appreciated what they had to say. 

"Tenacity, resilience, grit come to mind when thinking and reflecting on your group project. The joy of listening to your music was highlight of the day and made the point of the emotional connection of music's importance." 

"You all showed yourselves to be mature beyond your years in the way that you handled the situation with the piano. You were calm, flexible, professional and you maintained your composure. That is no small thing! You should be extremely proud of the way you comported yourselves today!!!" (And you know that's not me just saying that because no matter how excited I was, I wouldn't use three exclamation marks. ;-))