Welch Crew News: September/October 2015
Welch and MinBorg Crews getting ready to board the Amtrak to Sacramento. Expedition Express I’ve Been Working on the Railroad: The start to our 2015-2016 school year began with many exciting fieldwork adventures. On September 17, our crew walked to Donner Memorial State Park to kick-off our fall expedition. We met with Ranger Steve and began our learning of the historic Transcontinental Railroad. On October 6, our crew, along with the MinBorg crew, headed up to Donner Summit to experience the famous tunnels and snowsheds built by Chinese laborers. We learned about the longest tunnel built, Tunnel #6 and how the Chinese worked on that tunnel for 18 months from 4 different directions. Our most recent fieldwork included a train ride from Truckee to Sacramento on Amtrak with a visit to the California State Railroad Museum. These in-field experiences cannot be replicated by reading text in a book. Our students get hands on learning by visiting these historic locations and seeing actual locomotives from the 1800’s. Questions to ask your child about their learning: Why did people call Theodore Judah “crazy”? Who was the BIG 4 and why were they important to the Transcontinental Railroad? Who built a majority of the railroad for the Central Pacific Railroad from Sacramento through Truckee? […]