Apr 12, 2014 -
Union’s Delta-Psi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta sponsored a field trip to Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee, on April 12, 2014. Fourteen students and faculty participated in this activity which began with their departure from Union’s campus at 8:45 a.m. They were met at the park by Assistant Education Director Chris Gunlefinger who provided them with information for their visit.
Splitting into small groups, the Union participants spent the morning looking at a number of indoor exhibits in the park’s showcase building known as the Discovery Center. There were galleries devoted to such themes as military history, natural history, regional history, Native American history, and transportation. Among the items on display were exact copies of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, a Stearman PT-17 biplane, a Scorpion Light Armored Tank, a large collection of arrow heads, and one of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s race cars.
The group members reassembled for lunch at the park’s Union City Rotary Pavilion. All enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, home-made chocolate chip cookies, and Coca-Colas or bottled water.
In the afternoon, the Union visitors again divided into several small groups that focused their attention on outdoor exhibits scattered across the 50-acre park. These included a replica of an old train depot, a 1800s-era chapel with an American garden, a recreated nineteenth-century settlement made up of several cabins and houses, a European garden, a Japanese garden, and a covered bridge. Of special interest was an area called Freedom Square where a building called the Magnolia Place Liberty Hall contained a copy of the Liberty Bell and a number of items from retired Congressman John Tanner’s years of service in the United States House of Representatives.
The Union participants, having enjoyed beautiful weather and a fantastic park experience, departed from Discovery Park for Jackson shortly after 2:30 p.m.
Participants in the Phi Alpha Theta-sponsored trip to Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee, join together for a photo after arriving there on April 12, 2014. They are: (left to right) Dr. Stephen Carls, Jordan Pratt, Gracie Wise, Robert Briley, Trebor Briley, Kenan Keller, Colton Gebben, Shelby Pace, Ashton Hostetler, Hannah Jones, Sarah Carroll, Faith Bagley, Heather Stricklin, and Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls.
Chris Gunlefinger (right), Assistant Education Director at Discovery Park of America, discusses information about the park with the visitors from Union University on April 12, 2014.
The display sign at the entry of Discovery Park of America flashes "Union," as a part of the welcome that park officials gave to Union's Phi Alpha Theta group on April 12, 2014.
Phi Alpha Theta member Shelby Pace stands in front of a display about Hernando de Soto located in Discovery Park's central exhibitions building on April 12, 2014.
Kenan Keller (left) and Colton Gebben stand in front of an historic trading post display in the main exhibitions building at Discovery Park on April 12, 2014.
A Stearman PT-17 biplane of which several thousand were built in the 1930s and 1940s for the United States armed forces hangs from the ceiling in the Military Gallery located in Discovery Park's central exhibitions building. It was a military trainer aircraft.
A 1929 Lincoln Sport Phaeton is one of the cars on display in the Transportation Gallery at Discovery Park of America.
Trebor (left) and Robert Briley stand in front of a replica of the Rosetta Stone at Discovery Park on April 12, 2014.
Discovery Park participants from Union University join together just before lunch at the park's Union City Rotary Club Pavilion on April 12, 2014. They are: (standing) Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls; (seated, first row) Faith Bagley (left) and Shelby Pace; (second row, left to right) Hannah Jones, Ashton Hostetler, and Sarah Carroll; (third row) Kenan Keller (left) and Colton Gebben; (fourth row) Robert Briley (left) and Trebor Briley.
Heather Stricklin (left to right), Gracie Wise, and Jordan Pratt smile for the camera while heading for lunch at Discovery Park on April 12, 2014.
Members of Union's group at Discovery Park of America relax after lunch on April 12, 2014. They are: (left to right) Ashton Hostetler, Hannah Jones (standing), Shelby Pace, Sarah Carroll, and Faith Bagley (standing). The Union City Rotary Club Pavilion is in the background
Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls (back to camera) walks into the area of Discovery Park of America called The Settlement on April 12, 2014.
Hannah Jones (left) and Ashton Hostetler smile while in Discovery Park's stockades on April 12, 2014.
Ashton Hostetler (left to right), Colton Gebben, and Kenan Keller stand near a couple of old tractors in an area of Discovery Park called The Barn on April 12, 2014.
Phi Alpha Theta members Faith Bagley (left to right), Sarah Carroll, and Shelby Pace stand in front of a circa-1800s grist mill at Discovery Park of America on April 12, 2014.
Dr. Stephen Carls sits by a replica of the Liberty Bell located inside a building called Magnolia Place Liberty Hall at Discovery Park on April 12, 2014.
Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls stands in front of an old fire truck located in the Firehouse on Discovery Park's Freedom Square on April 12, 2014.