Several Rogers Middle School students and their families left Affton with Principal Jeff Remelius for an adventure in Washington, D.C.

The trip, booked through Smithsonian Student Travel, was full of activities and sites for the students.

After leaving St. Louis June 16, the group arrived in Washington and went to the Smithsonian complex, where they explored the museums at their own pace. The group met the rest of their travel companions from Iowa and Oregon to explore different monuments at night.

The trip included visits to the U.S. Capitol, Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard and the Kennedy and other gravesites.

They also saw the Library of Congress, Mount Vernon, the Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Memorials. Special highlights included a “ghost tour” of Alexandria, Virginia and the National Zoo. The group went to as many places as possible in its relatively short visit to the national capital.

Remelius has trips planned for next summer to Chicago and the following summer to Washington, D.C., and New York City through Smithsonian Student Travel.