This spring break, history teacher Dennis Cox took a group of 39 students and 12 adults on a trip to London, Paris and Normandy. On this trip students were able to see many historical landmarks and were able to connect lessons learned in history class to a real life experience, while having a ton of fun at the same time.

While in Europe, this group of 51 adults and students were able to see such sights as the Eiffel Tower, the beaches of Normandy, Versaille, the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe, the Notre Dame Cathedral and many others.

“One of the biggest highlights for all of us was going to the cemetery at Omaha Beach where the soldiers are buried,” Cox said. “It was overwhelming to see all of the white crosses.”

The point of these trips is to help students connect the history that they learn every year to the real life places that these events occurred.

“It just makes the history aspect become real. It’s not in a book, it’s not on a page, it’s not in a lecture, it’s not in a video clip, it’s real and you’re just standing there,” Cox said.

This trip also gave students an opportunity to do something new, to expand their world view and to see new places. Juniors Cole Krueger and Breanna Bullard had never been outside of the country before this trip.

“It changed my worldview in the sense that I knew these things existed before this trip, but I never really had a feel for it,” Krueger said. “Now it feels like the world is bigger.”

Every trip that Cox takes is different. Each one focuses on a different part of history, a different area of Europe and of course different students attend each year.

“The focal point of this trip was the history in London, connecting all of the stuff in the American Revolution,” Cox said.

For the next trip, one of the destinations will be the concentration camp Auschwitz, an experience which Cox thinks should be very beneficial experience for him and his students.

“Next year we are going to Auschwitz, I’m sure that will be another humbling experience,” Cox said. “Because I’ve taught about it for thirty years and now I’m going to be standing in it.”