Day Trips
Bus Trip to Washington, D.C. – Explore on Your Own!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2025
8:15 a.m. – 6:45 p.m.
COST: $45
The 黑料吃瓜网University Program Board and the Lifelong Learning program are sponsoring a bus trip to Washington D.C. on Saturday, Sep. 6th! 25 seats for undergraduate students and 25 for Lifelong Learning community members will be available. A charter bus will depart from Potomac Place (黑料吃瓜网University west campus) at 8:30 am and return at 6:45 pm so everyone get a full day of experience in our nation鈥檚 capital. Travelers will be dropped off in the National Mall with quick access to museums, monuments, and delicious food options. Select the ticket below based on whether you are a university student or community member. Student tickets are a reduced price, sponsored by Program Board, and require a student ID number to register.
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Brunch and Cirque Du Soleil LUZIA! at Tysons Corner听
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2025
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Cost: $130
A touring is making its way to the greater D.C. area, celebrating the richness of Mexican culture through vibrant colors, fantastical sets, and unforgettable artistry. Described as a 鈥渟urreal love letter to Mexico,鈥� LUZIA draws the audience into a dreamlike setting inspired by the country鈥檚 culture, nature, and mythology. …MORE DETAILS AND REGISTRATION
Day Visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21
7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
COST: $75
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: September 21
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was opened in 1993 to inspire citizens and leaders worldwide to confront antisemitism and hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. The Museum provides a powerful lesson in the fragility of freedom, the myth of progress, and the need for vigilance in preserving democratic values. It teaches millions of people each year about the dangers of unchecked hatred and the need to prevent genocide. Our day trip includes a visit to the Museum and a briefing by the Museum鈥檚 staff afterwards about the work of the Institute for Holocaust Education and the Museum鈥檚 Holocaust Encyclopedia, the world鈥檚 leading online authority on the Holocaust. The visit to the Holocaust Museum will be joined by Lifelong Learning instructor Wolfgang Pordzik and will follow thematically with his the six-week course 鈥淔DR, America, and the Holocaust鈥� starting on September 10. Transportation included.
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Sacred Texts, Modern Myths: Exploring the Museum of the Bible with a Scholar
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7 | 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
COST: $115
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: October 1
The Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. opened in 2017. The museum is the product of the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby. In 2018, two scholars wrote a book on the museum titled Bible Nation: The United States of Hobby Lobby (authors Candida Moss and Joel S. Baden). The Greens, funders and overseers of the museum, have no higher education in the Bible, but they are fundamentalist Christians, whose mission is to use Biblical antiquities to promulgate their fundamentalist views in the culture and in the nation鈥檚 capitol, in part because they see themselves as part of the movement to advance the notion of the U.S. as a Christian nation. In this field trip, instructor Eric Thompson, who is a biblical scholar, will guide attendees through the exhibits in the museum, explain the artifacts, such as Dead Sea Scrolls, and analyze the way they are displayed and the message they are advancing. Transportation and lunch are included.
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A Guided Day Trip to American Indian Burial Sites
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 | 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
COST: $75
Join us for a rare and meaningful day trip to a sacred American Indian burial ground nestled in the mountains of Hampshire County, West Virginia鈥攋ust about an hour鈥檚 drive from 黑料吃瓜网University, where we will depart together. Our guide for the day is Matthew 鈥淢aasaw鈥� Howard, an Independent American Indian Field Researcher and author of Adonvdo Yona (Bear Spirit) Mountain: An Ancestral Awakening and As I Rest, Let My Face Touch Heaven. Of Cherokee, Choctaw, Lenape, and Tuscarora heritage, and a member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe, Maasaw鈥檚 Indigenous name means 鈥減rotector of sacred land.鈥� He has identified dozens of ancient Indigenous sites throughout the Eastern U.S. and works through his nonprofit, Bear Spirit Mountain, Inc., to help landowners protect these sites from development through land trusts. Maasaw will lead us across both sides of a mountain he stewards. On one side lies a quiet valley with hundreds of ancient stone burial mounds. On the other side, you鈥檒l encounter a striking array of ceremonial features: serpent walls, base stone structures, split stones, petroglyphs, pictographs, and sacred stone circles鈥攅ach a testament to the ceremonial and spiritual life of the Indigenous peoples of this region.
Maasaw shares his deep knowledge as an individual, speaking only on behalf of his personal heritage and experience. He is a member of the Virginia Archaeological Society, the United Tribes of the Shenandoah Valley, the American Indian Society, and the Appalachian American Indian Society of West Virginia.
Important Information:听This respectful journey into a sacred landscape does require some light hiking. While the terrain is not steep, it is uneven and requires that participants be in good physical condition. Long pants, sturdy hiking boots, and a walking stick are strongly recommended. This trip is not suitable for those with mobility concerns. Transportation from 黑料吃瓜网University to Bear Spirit Mountain is included, but please bring a packed lunch for this outing!