By: Kiera Bell

Photo: CNN

Students, faculty and staff at Delaware State University will have an opportunity on April 3 to visit the National Museum of African History and Culture in Washington D.C. The field trip is made possible thanks to the History, Philosophy and Political Science department securing about 140 tickets for the trip.

The last day to purchase tickets was Feb. 20.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture was opened to the public Sept. 24, 2016 and since has been visited by thousands of people around the world. Both Dr. Kami Fletcher and Dr. Donna Patterson are urging students to attend.

“The museum is important to American history. You simply cannot have the story of this country without telling the story of blacks, our quest for freedom, our story of resistance, our narrative that illustrates resilience and ingenuity,” said Dr. Fletcher, assistant professor of African American History.

This trip will give the DSU community an opportunity to experience the first ever national museum that focuses solely on the lived experience of Africans in America.

“I’ve visited the museum myself, and it’s so rich in culture. I would like our students and staff to experience this so that they not only leave what they learned at the museum, but at least take something away and apply it to their everyday lives,” said Dr. Patterson, associate professor of History & Director of Africana Studies.

Dr. Patterson wasn’t sure if she could get 140 tickets this year for the trip because of how often the tickets are being bought every day. “I was glad we were able to receive that many, especially knowing that people buy thread tickets months in advance, Landon Bailey helped us get them,” she said.

This is a great opportunity for students to not only read and learn about the history of African Americans in the classroom, but be introduced to a whole realm of pictures, videos, artifacts, and more.

“I’m glad the trip was introduced to me by one of my friends, being as though I don’t live in D.C. and probably would have a hard time getting there, this is perfect,” said senior Quinn Funn. “I’ll be able to see our black history first-hand and even learn things that I didn’t know or that I wasn’t taught within the classroom. So I’m excited about that.”