Students use a teleprompter to broadcast the news (Photo: Brennan Meeks, Patterson Press)

By Jevaughn Taylor

The Patterson Press, the official student news publication of Patterson High School, organized a field trip to the Newseum in Washington D.C. on January 31, 2013. We went on this trip to learn more about news reporting and to witness some of the great stories and events that have happened in history and made the world what it is today. We saw exhibits of significant events, like the 9-11 terrorist attack that happened in New York City. This exhibit included the wreckage of the antenna from the top of the world trade center, along with news headlines, photos and videos taken during the attack. We also saw the cell door that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived behind after one of his many arrests during the Civil Rights Movement.

Another section of the Newseum featured an FBI exhibit that showed some of the murder weapons used to commit famous crimes.  We also got to see a “4-D” movie that uses new technology to make the viewer feel like they are actually in the movie. We even took a tour of a live broadcast studio that was used during the 2012 Presidential debates.

Many of the exhibits at the Newseum were interactive. This included an exhibit that allowed students to make their own news broadcast. By selecting a background screen and reading from a device called a teleprompter, students could make a video of themselves reporting the news. Most of the students on the trip participated in this activity and had a lot of fun doing it.

The trip to the Newseum was fun and educational. We learned all about journalism, history and life in general. Students who weren’t a part of the Patterson Press news team are now considering joining us because they realize how much fun they can have and how becoming a student reporter can help them to become  that special person they want to be in life. We would like to thank Mr. Pesa, Mr. Cox and Ms. Deihl for organizing this trip for us.

(Photos by Brennan Meeks and Brenden Williams, Patterson Press. Click on a photo for a larger image.)