Perspectives

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

2025-2026 Perspectives - Hot Springs, Arkansas

While there are a couple of specific activities with reservations and set times, our schedule will be flexible enough to work around uncooperative weather and is as follows:

Monday, Feb. 23

Students should arrive at Selwyn at 7:15 am to pack vans for a 7:45 AM departure.  We will eat lunch on the road, so students must have a sack lunch in a daypack to carry with them in the van. We will stop at Crater of Diamonds State Park and spend a couple of hours prospecting before continuing to Hot Springs (some record-setting diamonds have been found recently).  Once in Hot Springs, we will unpack and then grocery shop for the week and eat dinner at the house.

Tuesday, Feb. 24 - Explore Hot Springs

We will start the morning exploring the Mid-America Museum in Hot Springs. We will eat a sack lunch before spending the afternoon traversing some of the hiking trails around the Hot Springs area, and taking a ride to the top of the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. Dinner will be at the house. 

Wednesday, Feb. 25 - Explore Little Rock

We will take a day trip to Little Rock and start our adventure by visiting the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, eating a sack lunch, before heading to our next stop. We will then head to the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, take a guided tour, and walk around the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Gardens, the North Shore Riverwalk Park, and the River Market. We will culminate our day with dinner at a restaurant that is to be determined. 

Thursday, Feb. 26 - Explore Hot Springs

We will set out to explore Pinnacle Mountain State Park with a sack lunch in tow and then head to the downtown Hot Springs area. In the late afternoon, we will practice our teamwork skills while solving a puzzle room at Narrow Escape, and then head back to the house for dinner.

Friday, Feb. 27

We will start our morning with breakfast, cleaning and packing, and then leave for the drive back to Selwyn.  We plan to arrive at school between 3:00 and 4:00 PM.

PACKING LIST

2025-2026 Perspectives - Hot Springs, Arkansas

Each person is limited to one suitcase/bag. Duffle-type bags work best for packing in the vans because they smoosh easily. Each student must have a daypack to carry with them daily. The average temperatures in Hot Springs in February are low, mid-60s during the day and around 40° at night, with possible rain. Please plan for layers. You will need clothing for 4 days and 4 nights

• raincoat or poncho (check Hot Springs weather forecast)

• light-weight jacket (check Hot Springs weather forecast)

• heavy jacket (check Hot Springs weather forecast)

• sweater or sweatshirt

• 2 long-sleeved shirts

• 3 t-shirts

• undergarments

• socks

• 2 jeans

• sweat pants / comfy pants

• pajamas

• swimsuit and beach towel

• 2-3 pairs of shoes (tennis shoes plus one more pair- hiking boots if you have them)

• toiletries:  comb, brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant

• sunglasses

• sunscreen

• lip balm with sunscreen

• hat w/visor or brim

• refillable water bottle

• ***cell phone charger

• headphones

• flashlight - you will need a real flashlight for night hikes, not a phone flashlight

• Souvenir money – the student is responsible for keeping track of their own money

***Your child is allowed to bring cell phones, but no iPads, laptops, or other devices.  We encourage the students to be in the moment, looking around at their surroundings and interacting with each other. 

Monday, March 24

Students should arrive at Selwyn by 7:00 am to pack vans for a 7:30 AM departure.  We will eat lunch on the road, so students must have a fully disposable sack lunch in a daypack to carry with them in the van. Our first stop will be Blue Bell Creamery in Brenham, Texas. We will eat lunch there and then see how the ice cream is made and packaged before heading back out on our journey. Once in Galveston we will grocery shop for the week then unpack and get settled in. Dinner will be at the house followed by a late night walk on the beach.

Tuesday, March 25

It will be an early start today. We will take the ferry from Port Bolivar to Galveston and then head up to Houston for the day. Our first stop will be Johnson Space Center where we will tour the facilities and the Starship Gallery. We may also have an opportunity to tour the Astronaut Training Facility. Afterwards we will visit the Holocaust Museum before returning to the house for dinner.

Wednesday, March 26 

Today begins with a Marine Biology outing on the ocean followed by a tour of the tall ship Elissa. From there we will visit the Texas History Center in the Rosenberg Library to learn about the 1900 Hurricane. The rest of the day will be spent visiting the Galveston Art Center and exploring the Seawall and the Strand together with a scavenger hunt to find the Hurricane Ike tree sculptures. 

Thursday, March 27

We will start out with a private tour of the Bolivar Lighthouse and a visit to Fort Travis followed by lunch back at the house. From there we will head out to the San Jacinto Battlefield to explore the grounds where this pivotal battle in Texas history took place and then visit the museum. After returning to the house for dinner, it will be time to prepare to leave the next morning and then take a final night time stroll on the beach. 

Friday, March 28

After packing the van and doing our final clean up at the house, we will begin our journey home. We will eat lunch en route and then stop at Mammoth National Monument in Waco to spend some time looking at the fossils and dig site before continuing back to Selwyn. We expect to get back to school sometime between 5:30- 6:30 pm and will post frequent progress updates in Bloomz.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY

2023 Perspectives - Hot Springs, Arkansas

While there are a couple of specific activities with reservations and set times, our schedule will be flexible enough to work around uncooperative weather and is as follows:

Monday, Oct. 23

Students should arrive at Selwyn at 7:30 am to pack vans for an 8:00 AM departure.  We will eat lunch on the road, so students must have a sack lunch in a daypack to carry with them in the van. We will stop at Crater of Diamonds State Park and spend a couple hours prospecting before continuing on to Hot Springs (some record setting diamonds have been found recently).  Once in Hot Springs we will unpack and then grocery shop for the week and eat dinner at the house.

Tuesday, Oct. 24 - Explore Hot Springs

We will spend the morning hiking trails around the Hot Springs area and then take a ride to the top of Hot Springs Mountain Tower.  We will eat a sack lunch and then spend the afternoon exploring the Mid-America Science Museum.  Dinner at the house.

Wednesday, Oct. 25 - Explore Little Rock

The group will take a day trip to Little Rock. We will visit Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, visit the Arkansas State Capitol and Old State House Museum, and explore the Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Gardens. Lunch that day will be a sack lunch during our explorations, and then we will be back at the house in Hot Springs for dinner. 

Thursday, Oct. 26 - Explore Hot Springs

We will explore more trails and the downtown Hot Springs area. In the afternoon we will practice our teamwork skills while solving three puzzle rooms at Narrow Escape, possibly visit a glass blowing studio, and then for dinner we will dine out lakeside at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Friday, Oct. 27

We will take advantage of the beautiful outdoors for a final hike in the area before cleaning and packing for the drive back to Selwyn, including a sack lunch for the trip.  We plan on arriving back to school by 3:00.