Welcome to Washington D.C., a place filled with amazing monuments that tell the story of our nation’s history. As you walk around the National Mall, you might wonder why we build these monuments. Let’s dive into the fascinating reasons and the incredible materials that make up these structures.
Imagine if Earth’s 4.5 billion-year history was squeezed into just one year. Humans would only appear on the afternoon of December 31st, and the United States would show up in the last few seconds! Monuments help us remember and honor our brief time on this planet, connecting us to the past and even to the stars.
The Vietnam War Memorial is made from a rock called gabbro, which formed in a hot and intense environment deep within the Earth. This rock is about 2 billion years old, from a time when North America didn’t even exist, and most life on Earth was just single-celled organisms. Gabbro forms when magma cools slowly, creating large, beautiful crystals.
The Lincoln Memorial is crafted from marble, which started as limestone. Limestone is a chalky substance that was once alive! Hundreds of millions of years ago, North America was covered by an ancient ocean filled with tiny single-celled plankton called coccolithophores. These creatures had intricate shells that, over time, accumulated to form limestone. The famous Cliffs of Dover are also made from these tiny remnants, which are so numerous that they can be seen blooming from space!
The Smithsonian Castle is built from red Seneca sandstone, which gets its color from iron. But did you know that all the iron in the universe, including the iron in our blood and buildings, was created in dying stars? Stars like our sun are filled with hydrogen. When hydrogen atoms collide with enough energy, they fuse into helium, releasing energy that supports life on Earth. As stars run out of hydrogen, they collapse and form larger atoms, eventually creating iron.
The iron in the Smithsonian Castle was born in the heart of dying stars, making it a truly cosmic material. This connection to the universe is even more incredible than a ride on a carousel!
Next time you visit Washington D.C., take a moment to appreciate the monuments not just for their historical significance, but also for the incredible journey of the materials they are made from. From ancient oceans to the depths of space, these monuments are a testament to the wonders of our world and beyond.
Imagine Earth’s history as a single year. Create a timeline poster showing when significant events, like the formation of the Vietnam War Memorial’s gabbro and the appearance of humans, would occur in this year. Use colors and drawings to make your timeline engaging and informative.
Gather samples of different rocks, including gabbro and marble. Examine their textures and colors under a magnifying glass. Write a short report on how each rock forms and its significance in the monuments of Washington D.C. Share your findings with the class.
Design your own monument using materials discussed in the article, like marble or sandstone. Draw your design and explain the historical event or person it commemorates. Consider how the materials’ origins add meaning to your monument.
Write a creative story about the journey of iron from a dying star to its use in the Smithsonian Castle. Include details about the process of star formation and collapse, and how this cosmic journey connects to the materials we use on Earth.
Take a virtual tour of Washington D.C.’s monuments using online resources. Choose one monument and create a digital presentation that includes its history, the materials used, and their origins. Present your findings to the class, highlighting the connection between the monument and Earth’s history.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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[Okay, one, two, three . . .][music] I’m here in Washington D.C. on the National Mall, and the first thing you notice is you’re surrounded by monuments, all these buildings to commemorate our nation’s history. But why do we build these monuments? If we took all of Earth’s 4.5 billion years and condensed it into a single year, humans only show up on the afternoon of December 31st, and the United States doesn’t appear until the last seconds.
So maybe we build these things to extend beyond the present moment, the brief time that we’re here. When you look at what they’re made of, we go beyond the present, beyond humans, and even into the depths of space. The rock that the Vietnam War Memorial is built from was formed in a hot and violent environment; it’s called gabbro. If you look deep inside the Earth’s crust, you find a lot of this material. It forms from the slow cooling of magma, which gives us those beautifully large crystals. The gabbro in the Vietnam wall was formed around 2 billion years ago, a piece of the Earth from before North America even existed, back when almost all life on Earth was single-celled.
Speaking of single-celled life, not Lincoln—he’s multi-cellular—but he’s made of marble. Before that marble was marble, it was limestone, which is a chalky substance, and before it was that, it was alive. The marble that the Lincoln Memorial is made of comes from Colorado, and hundreds of millions of years ago, North America was covered by an ancient ocean filled with single-celled plankton called coccolithophores, which have beautifully ornate shells. The Cliffs of Dover are made of these dead remnants that accumulated over time. Even though these coccolithophores are microscopic, you can see them bloom from space.
I’m standing here in front of the Smithsonian Castle, made of beautiful red Seneca sandstone. It gets that red color from the iron content. That iron, in fact, all the iron in the universe—from our blood to the buildings around us—was born in dying stars.
So there’s something really special about that iron. Take a star like our sun; it’s filled with hydrogen. Those hydrogen atoms are moving around, and when they get really close, the electromagnetic force usually repels them apart. But occasionally, they get close enough with enough energy to fuse into a helium atom, releasing a significant amount of energy, which is what sustains life here on Earth. Eventually, our star will run out of hydrogen, collapse a bit, and those helium atoms will form larger atoms, continuing until we reach iron.
That castle, the Smithsonian Castle, is built from the iron that was created deep in space, in the centers of dying stars. That is even more amazing than this carousel ride.
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This version maintains the essence of the original content while removing any informal language or unnecessary details.
Monuments – Structures or buildings created to commemorate a person or event, often of historical significance. – The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids as monuments to honor their pharaohs.
History – The study of past events, particularly in human affairs. – In history class, we learned about the causes and effects of the American Revolution.
Earth – The third planet from the Sun, home to all known life forms. – Scientists study the Earth’s atmosphere to understand climate change.
Humans – Members of the species Homo sapiens, characterized by their ability to think and communicate. – Humans have developed complex societies and technologies over thousands of years.
Limestone – A sedimentary rock composed mainly of calcium carbonate, often used in building materials. – The ancient city of Petra was carved into limestone cliffs by the Nabataeans.
Gabbro – A coarse-grained igneous rock formed from the slow cooling of magma beneath the Earth’s surface. – Geologists found gabbro in the oceanic crust, indicating volcanic activity in the area.
Iron – A strong, magnetic metal that is an essential component of Earth’s core and is widely used in construction and manufacturing. – The Iron Age marked a period when humans began to use iron to make tools and weapons.
Stars – Massive, luminous spheres of plasma held together by gravity, visible in the night sky. – Astronomers study stars to learn about the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Ocean – A vast body of saltwater that covers about 71% of Earth’s surface. – The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean on Earth.
Universe – The totality of all space, time, matter, and energy that exists. – The Big Bang theory explains the origin of the universe approximately 13.8 billion years ago.
