Eduventure at the Capital

February 24, 2011

Today was an educational adventure, hence an eduventure (yes, I made that up). The Big Brothers Big Sisters office organized a tour of the Nevada State Legislature (which is currently in session) in our capital, Carson City.  I picked up L this cold and blustery (correction...downright crazy windy) day. We met up with the rest of the group (approximately 40 of us total comprised of Bigs, Littles, and BBBS staff) in the lobby of the legislative building. We toured the Assembly chambers on one side of the building and the Senate chambers on the opposite side. We also got to see the area where the lobbyists hang out in the newer part of the building. The tour guide wanted to end the tour by showing us a committee room, but there were too many of us and the committee was in session, so we stayed in the hallway and he told us a story about a 4th grade girl who decided that Nevada needed a state insect. She gave testimony (the point of the story was that it doesn’t matter your age...you can give testimony before the legislators) and nominated the vivid dancer damselfly as the state insect. Turns out the tour guide simplified the story quite a bit, but it is true, this is our state insect, and in actuality (according to this story), the testimony was given by three Las Vegas 4th graders in 2009. We were taken back to the Assembly chambers where we waited for a half hour or so (we learned about "legislative time") for the Assembly proceedings to begin. After the roll call, invocation, pledge of allegiance, and reading of several proposed bills, one of the legislators introduced our group to the assembly. We were all asked to stand and we got a round of applause. BBBS provided lunch to all of us afterward at the Nevada State Library and Archives building. PB&J was on the menu. Not gourmet, but yummy enough considering how hungry we were. It was so nice of them to provide lunch for so many of us and it gave us a chance to sit and chat with other Bigs and Littles. After lunch I took L to my office (just down the street) to see where I worked and meet my co-workers. She spun in my chair, colored in a State Parks coloring book, and showed off her artistic skills on the dry erase board in the conference room. We headed home, still windier than ever outside, and I dropped her off at school (she didn't want to go, begged me not to take her, but it was Mom's orders).  :)

Until our next adventure . . .