Tenement Museum and Williamsburg Bridge Tomorrow -- and the UN

Hi, all,

This is of special interest to the juniors: Let's meet tomorrow at 2:00 PM for the tour of the Tenement Museum.  (See directions here.)We can do a guided tour, and then, if the weather is as beautiful as it was today, we can walk across the Williamsburg Bridge, which I know that the freshmen may be interested in doing. 

Reminder, time is running out for your blog comments.  Read on for descriptions of the UN, and possible ideas for touring it on your own.
I actually arrived at the UN late, so I waited outside for a while, and enjoyed watching the different groups of students (some of them your age, some older), and the various tv crews filming in various languages.  I didn't do the tour, because it seemed foolish to do it without kids, but I developed a set of questions, which adventurous people might want to answer on their own.  (I might go again on Monday if people email me that they're interested in going as a group.)

Question 1 is for the juniors, and the rest are general:

1. If you walk down 43rd Street from Grand Central Station you will pass a little park, Tudor Plaza.  Go into this park and look around.  Compare and contrast it with the UN building (visible from the street), and find a tree similar to the willow in E.B. White's essay Here is New York.  Draw a picture or take a photo of this tree, and explain how it fits or does not fit with the UN buildings around it.  (Use White's essay as an inspiration.)


2. East 43rd St. is called "United Nations Way."  List at least two consulates or missions to the UN that are located on this street.

3. Who is protesting outside of the UN?  What are they protesting?  (There will be different answers depending on which day you go, but just listen for the megaphones or look for the signs and the odds are you'll find something.)  What tv crews are filming there?  In what languages?  (Extra credit if you go up to someone and actually ask them what they're doing there.  Be polite!)

4. What languages do you hear among the other people touring the UN?  (I heard Spanish, French, Dutch and German.)

5. The UN currently has an exhibit on how malaria affects world health.  Look at the exhibit and write one fact you did not know previously.

Until soon,
Ms. Pawel