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DC-area students help design ornaments for President’s Park trees

Students from 58 schools in the D.C. area — including Friendship Public Charter School, Blow-Pierce Academy, Calvert High School and Falmouth Elementary School — designed one-of-a-kind ornaments that will go on dozens of smaller trees that surround the National Christmas Tree in President’s Park this year.

This year’s ornaments were created by more than 2,600 students.



The America Celebrates ornament program represent states, territories and schools managed by the Bureau of Indian Education and the Department of Defense Education Activity. The program each year involves the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Education and the National Park Foundation.

The Park Service said the ornaments will feature state flowers, landmarks, historical sites and ecological wonders.

The public will have a chance to see the National Christmas Tree and the students’ decorated trees featuring those student’s ornaments from Dec. 2 through Jan. 1.

The 100th National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at the President’s Park on the National Mall in D.C. The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS on Dec. 11 at 8 p.m.

National Museum of the American Latino to be housed in historic Smithsonian building

The Smithsonian Institution has decided to put the National Museum of the American Latino into an existing, historic building, rather than constructing a new one. The Smithsonian Board of Regents on Monday designated the Arts and Industries Building, a 145-year-old redbrick Victorian structure located between the Smithsonian Castle and the Hirshhorn Museum, as the permanent site of the National Museum of the American Latino, which Congress authorized in 2020. In 2022, the Smithsonian narrowed its survey for permanent locations for the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum to four locations near the National Mall on land owned by the National Park Service. The Arts and Industries Building, located at 900 Jefferson St. SW, was one of the four sites. New construction on National Park Service land would require congressional approval. However, since the Smithsonian already owns the Arts and Industries Building, the institution can place the National Museum of the American Latino in the existing building without additional legislation.
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