Antlers GEAR UP Students Tour the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

Antlers ninth grade GEAR UP students visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum, created to remember and honor those impacted by the April 1995 Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building bombing. Before the ranger-guided tour, students were encouraged to write thoughtful messages on a chalkboard walk located outside the front doors. Students began the memorial tour learning about the significance of the memorial landscaping features, which were thoughtfully and definitively designed. During this time, students were encouraged to find the names of each person on the symbolic chairs in the Memorial garden that represented those killed in the bombing. Students were then encouraged to search for at least one person’s name and personal history when they made their way through the museum. This gave students the opportunity to honor and know those who were killed. Next, students toured the museum, which features a walking timeline detailing the day before, the day of, and the days, weeks, and months following April 19, 1995. Students were offered a hands-on learning experience with interactive displays and diagrams located throughout the museum. The museum also features televisions that play newsreels from that period in time as well as displays of artifacts and evidence used in the trials. The field trip was sponsored by Eastern Oklahoma State College GEAR UP. Eastern received a $17 million federal GEAR UP grant in 2017, and will serve more than 3,000 students in 39 area schools for seven years.
Antlers ninth grade GEAR UP students pose outside Oklahoma City National Memorial near the Survivor Tree. Pictured are (front row, left to right) Ethan Sparks, Luke Tabor, Tristan Standridge, Sean Moon, Devin McClain, Conner Owens, Tanna Richardson, Lexi Todd, Jakus Hatcher, Ryan Sorrells, Dalton Wolfe, Daniel Caldwell, Chance Marris, (row 2) Jeffrey Ruff, Cameron Snow, Ethan Schoeni, Luke Cowett, James Ranallo, Easton Standridge, Washington Cooper, Sammy Loftis, Ian Bonilla, Jayden Kellogg, Aaron Bridges, Austin Sorrells, Trevor Ludlow, Alley Broomfield, (back row) Sarrena Aguero, Natalie Leathers, Charity Smith, Teresa Nester, Mekenzie Jenkins, Abigail Cannon, Sarah Brown, Mary Wilson, Zoe Courtwright, Trinitee Cline, Jaycie Bingham, Morgan Clark, Payton Wolfe, Hunter Henry and Jake Duncun.

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