J and I watched 2 episodes of The Rising - Rebuilding Ground Zero.
Ep. 3) A Gateway to New York: Fifty million people pass through the World Trade Center's stunning new transportation hub every year. This is Grand Central Station for the 21st century - a public cathedral that rivals its uptown counterpart in both scale and significance. Designed by world-famous architect Santiago Calatrava, this project attempts to create what could be one of the most important buildings ever constructed, in the heart of one of the busiest cities in the world, on a site more complex and closely scrutinized than any other. Almost everything about this project is unprecedented. This will be the new front door to the most important 16 acres in New York and the regional gateway to lower Manhattan. As a piece of architecture, this project will be unlike anything the city or nation has ever seen - a soaring wave of gleaming white steel ribs, seemingly floating in the air, that will radically change the landscape of downtown New York forever. But while the transit hub's above ground entryway is what will immediately catch the eye, it's the cavernous underground space below that will elevate project from just a stunning piece of architecture to one of the most vitally useful projects in New York City. On paper, it is staggering to look at - a sprawling, spacious transit hub that will seamlessly connect millions of commuters to 14 subway and PATH trains in a way no New Yorker has ever experienced. But the degree of complexity involved in physically creating the design is proportional to its brilliance. Even in a vacant lot isolated from the city, building a transit hub of this magnitude would be a tall order. But with its central placement inside the world's most complex construction site - sandwiched next to, beneath and in between several other Ground Zero mega-projects - it's become a Herculean task. But building one of the most ambitious structures ever designed is only one of their challenges. The Mayor, the Governor and Executive Director of the Port Authority have all promised (publicly) that the memorial pools and plaza WILL be open for 9/11/11 to commemorate the tenth year anniversary of the attacks. This non-negotiable deadline for the Memorial dictates the priorities of virtually every piece of the site, and most directly, the transportation hub - because it just so happens that the hub's massive underground concourse is located directly BELOW the northeast end of the Plaza. In other words, this underground portion of hub (called PATH HALL) is essentially supporting the plaza-therefore construction on the plaza cannot begin until the PATH Hall is complete. So it's a race against the clock to build the framework for the hub, above which the tree-lined plaza will essentially "float." It's an engineering challenge akin to suspending Central Park 100 feet in the air. And it has to happen now.
Ep. 4) A New City: The rebuilding of Ground Zero isn't only about replacing two tall towers. It's about rebuilding an entire community. The oldest business district in America, and the devastated residential community within it, will soon be the prototype for the city of the future. Ground Zero is the nexus of that city-wide transformation.
Monday - Historical Maps Class (10/3)
INTRO TO MAPS: Learn about map projections and important features of maps. What are mapmakers' challenges of creating a flat map from a 3D earth? What are the different types of maps throughout history and their uses?
Then that night J & M went bowling with other teen and tween homeschoolers. What a fun time watching them socialize, eat lots of pizza and bowl. The ended up at a candle pin bowling alley after the place they normally go to was closed. Not matter what they had a great time. Wish I had brought my camera! :(
Tuesday - Maine Military Museum (10/4)
A formal lesson on WWII. Lee Humiston, the museum curator, gave a talk on events leading up to WWII, plus WWII events. Mr. Willard Clark, WWII veteran, came and shared his experiences with us. It added such a personal touch to the day. We also toured the museum and asked questions.
Wednesday - Measure Up Cooking (10/5)
Mikayla made Danish Pastry. Yummm.
Thursday - Co-op (10/6)
OM continues. Both kids are really enjoying it. Justin likes the strategy of building with the balsa wood. Mikayla and her team decided to use "To Steal or Not to Steal" as their theme. It was Mikayla's idea so she is really proud.
Duct Tape class is Justin's favorite though. They are making bags this week. Very nice!
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