Field Trip to the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies

On Thursday, September 22, our co-op took it's first field trip of the school year.  We went to Arizona State University to spend the morning with some super-smart history experts at the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.  Kendra was our hostess, she's the outreach coordinator for the Center. She and the rest of the staff are very passionate and knowledgeable about middle-European history.  Kendra filled the room with items and artifacts relating to the Middle Ages--many of them from her own collection.  She even brought in her very own Medieval-themed wedding dress.  The kids were able to try on dresses and capes.  They were also able to try on full sets of (very heavy!) chain mail and helmets.  They were able to practice writing with quill pens, color pictures, sword fight and ask questions of the very friendly staff. Finally, one of the staff members brought in a working ballista and the kids were able to take turns firing rockets at a target of stacked plastic cups.  Wow, it was a great morning of hands-on learning.  Thanks to everyone at the ACMR--you were fantastic!!