The Tower Bridge & the British Museum

Halt! Who goes there? The Keys.....Our first evening in London was spent witnessing the 700 year old Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Standing in the dark passageways of the Tower grounds, at precisely 10 pm a Beefeater, accompanied by a cadre of soldiers, proceeded to secure the Tower and the crown jewels of England. After having spent the afternoon at the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, this Ceremony was an exciting way to end our first evening in London. Today, we made our way from Hanger Lane on the Tube to the British Library and the British Museum. Loving primary source material, I as well as the students, feasted on such delightful treats as the Magna Carta, Beatles "Help" lyrics, Beowulf, and Captain Robert Scott's diary from 1910 where he chronicled his expedition's tragic demise at the South Pole. Also, who knew that google became a verb in 1999? Now I do from the dynamically interactive exhibit about the English language at the British Library. Perhaps, the greatest thrill for the students was to find the location of where Harry Potter went through the wall to reach Hogwarts at King's Cross Station. Check the Tweet for a picture. Last of all on this day packed with goodies, we made it to the British Museum. Parthenon marbles....Need I say more. All the students were required to pick one piece from the museum and be able to explain it to the group and why they chose that particular piece. A small assignment, but we saw lots of Hawken students drawing in the museum. A fish and chips dinner and a movie (Submarine) and we made it back to Hanger Lane. Tomorrow we are off to Windsor Castle...I think they found our invite to meet with the Queen so we are pretty excited. Oh, in the who can find the cheesiest Kate and William memorabilia, Kalle leads with some weird paper dolls where you can actually change their clothes.....Day 5 & 6 Photos