DiDVE Fall 2026

Our guiding question this semester is: How do we, and can we, celebrate, contemplate, and commemorate our history through mementoes/memorabilia, murals, and monuments/memorials?

Reminder! Please use our long weekend to catch up on your DiDVE Canva book!!!! Deal students should have pages 2, 3, 4, and 7 done by our meeting on Thursday, 11/5! :)

Links for booklets are below! :)

Photos from our meetings, field trips, synch sessions! :)

We will swap our weeks on 11/4 and 11/12, which means that we will be in the classroom from 3:30-4:20 pm on 11/4 and be on our memorial field trip on 11/12 from 3:30-6:30 pm. I'm sorry for the change--hopefully it will be better weather wise and also give us a chance to reflect on our experience last weeek! :)

We had a great mural walk down the U Street Corridor from 14th Street to 10th and U up to V Streets, NW. In all we saw seven murals, had a snack of chicken with mumbo sauce and fries at Ben's Chili Bowl, and ended our tour at the African American Civil War Memorial. We saw so much art, learned so much history, and enjoyed being in the U Street Community!!!! What a beautiful afternoon of walking, art, and learning! We brainstormed how murals connect people, community, places, and histories!

Thank you to Ava for snack!

We had our second synch session with our partners in Arkansas! Students were guided through a Nearpod where they could share and connect their respective experiences through objects! It was exciting to see what we each saw and to see the similarities and differences of objects, museums, and experiences. Students wrote a six word story to describe our museum experience and did a series of collaborate boards to think about how objects from each museum influenced people's lives, or how they connected people, or to think about the people who created the objects and their purposes. Students concluded with a thinking routine: Before I went to the museum I thought _________ but now I think. We had a great time!

Thank you to Jake for snack!!!!

Hi all! I was out of town this past weekend and behind on my newsletter updates! Just want to remind all that we have a field trip for our mural outing for DiDVE tomorrow. We'll be leaving at 3:30 and returning by 6:30 pm. Students should wear comfortable shoes. I believe Ava is signed up for snacks. I'll provide the clipboards, content, and pencils. :) We'll be going to the U Street Corridor to look at murals. If a student has permission to get off at an earlier stop on the train, please text me that note (202 421 6692) so I know where to let them off at. Otherwise, pick up is in front of Deal! :)

We had a great time visiting the NMAH's exhibit "In Pursuit Of..." on 10/15, viewing memorabilia from our country's history! The exhibit has objects throughout the museum so we found ourselves on all three floors, east and west wing, exploring, asking questions, and sharing our finds with one another! The hour went quickly! Some of our favorite objects were the Hamilton suit, Ronald Reagan's tea cup, the Star-Spangled Banner (yes, the real one!!!), and Maya Angelou's typewriter!

We have our first DiDVE outing tomorrow (10/15), to the National Museum of American History to see the In Pursuit of exhibit!

Students should make sure they bring their Kids Ride Free card if they have one (no worries if you don't). We will leave at 3:30 pm from Ms. Trenkle's room, W104, and return to Deal by 6:30 pm. The building will most likely be locked. Students will be asked to carry their backpacks with them.

Any student who wants to leave from another station (between Smithsonian and Tenleytown) must have their parent/guardian send me a text at 202 421 6692 saying which stop I may let you off at. If you are coming back to Tenleytown and want to walk home from Tenleytown stop rather than come back to Deal, please also send a text so I know where students are! :)

I have the permission slips of all students listed at the bottom of this form. No money is needed.

Reminder, we will have DiDVE staff who just want to see us in action and will be there to video us behind the scenes in action.

Thank you in advance to Marie and Audrey for bringing snack! See you tomorrow! :)

Thank you Zaria for snack!!!

At our meeting this week students found out who was their partner and logged in to see their Canva booklets. Students who had trouble editing at school should finish the cover page and page 2 for this Thursday! All links are below.

We had our first virtual exchange! So fun to see what objects we identified with our cities and what Helen Tyson MS identified for us and for Springdale. Fun was had by all!

Thank you to Katherine for the awesome vegan chocolate cookies (homemade!) and halos!!!

Next week we will be at Deal and introduce our community table books and partners. Please make sure that you have a Canva account (created at home--for free!) and that you can log in (write the login and password in your agenda if necessary!). We will need itl The school wifi will not allow you to create a Canva account at school, but you can access one if you already have it.

Thank you to Tyler and his family for our snacks this week!! We loved them!

This week we postponed our virtual exchange until next week. Instead, we brainstormed and created slides of 10 objects that we think represent our DC community and 10 objects that we think represent the Springdale, AR community. Our friends at Helen Tyson are doing the same and at our virtual exchange this week we will see what each school came up with for themselves and for the other!

We also wrote intro postcards that were mailed!

We had a great time sharing objects from our lives! Students took turns sharing their selected objects and why it is important to them. Ms. Trenkle will share the objects with our partner teacher in Arkansas and students will be matched on their interest.

There is no homework this week! See you on Thursday!

Thank you to Lilly and her family for our snack! The chips, granola bars, and Nutrigrain bars were much appreciated!

What is an object that represents you, your family, or an important memory?

Why is this object important to you?

• Next week bring in the object (only if it’s safe to!!!) or bring in a picture of it.

• Be prepared to share with the group.

• We will share your objects with our Arkansas friends (and they will share with us) and Ms. Berry and I will match you for the semester based on objects that you share!

Be sure to bring in your signed forms if you haven’t already!!!! (See below if you need them again!)

In our meeting we introduced ourselves, and discussed the focus for this semester. Students were asked to identify and then share with a partner their answer to these two questions: What is an object that represents you, your family, or an important memory?

Why is this object important to you?

Students will bring in an object (or a picture of an object to share next week with the group!).

We also began to think about which objects tell the story of our country. Students were introduced to

In Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness Exhibit at National Museum of American History (Currently on display!). In 2026, Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History is leading the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations with an immersive exhibition exploring the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. Showcasing 250 objects ranging from the 1700s to the present day, In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness traces how Americans have pursued the promises of our nation’s founding—often against the odds or facing opposition, but always with the conviction that achieving them was possible.

We ended with also thinking about what objects might tell the story of DC.....all of these conversations are to be continued as we begin our Fall 2026 DiDVE adventure together. :)

The Community Table Blookets are the Virtual Exchange part of DiDVE this Fall. Students in DC will be paired with students in Arkansas to share about themselves, their communities, and their projects.

Ms. Berry, our partner teacher in AR, made these incredible books for us on Canva. During designated weeks we will use these books to share with our peers in Arkansas.

Students MUST create a Canva account at home (it's free) but once it's created, students can access their booklet via Canva at school.

Thank you! :)

1. Mika Habyarimana (6th)
2. Katherine Glenn (7th) *
3. Audrey Schofield (7th) *
4. Tamara Slancheva (6th)
5. Zaria Khalid (7th)
6. Ethan Rother (6th)
7. Jake Rich (8th) *
8. Lilly McNally (7th)
9. Tyler Loughnane (6th)
10. Cam Jolly (8th)
11. Ava Silson (8th)*
12. Akiva Leibovitz Hampton (7th)
13. Arsema Arega (6th)

*=Returning DiDVE participant

Coming Soon!

In 2026, the United States turns 250 years old, and as the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, the Smithsonian is ideally positioned to contextualize our nation’s complex history with all its challenges and opportunities. It is in this spirit that the Smithsonian proudly launches Democracy in Dialogue, a unique cultural storytelling project bringing together teachers and students from diverse communities to engage in discovery, dialogue, and reflection.

To this end, centering local stories within a broader national narrative illuminates the indispensability of the human voice, in all its variety, in ensuring a robust democracy. A core component of Democracy in Dialogue is the virtual exchange. Never has the need been greater, perhaps, in giving teachers and their students opportunities to form authentic partnerships around the stories emanating from their respective communities, stories that feature needs and solutions, that capture perseverance and resilience, and that celebrate transformation. Indeed, we know that students benefit from the opportunity to interact with their peers from different settings. Their curiosity is piqued and their awareness expanded. We also know that teachers grow their practices in powerful ways when they collaboratively design and try out interactive instructional methods, grounded in inquiry. These important processes, all emerging from this exchange model, help to build essential civic dispositions, where communication, collaboration, and perspective-taking are held at the center.

Check out this article in SmartBrief about the DiDVE program! Be sure to see if you can find our Alice Deal students featured in the article! https://www.smartbrief.com/original/how-the-smithsonian-connects-classrooms-bridging-distances-across-america

Check out our Spring 2026 DiDVE Experiences!

Check out our Fall 2025 DiDVE Experiences!

Checkout out our DiDVE SY 2024-25 experiences!