PENN TWP - Walking a mile in the shoes of Holocaust victims was the best learning experience for some middle school students at Penn Christian Academy.

Twenty students in grades sixth, seventh and eighth at the school visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum last week in Washington, D.C., as part of a two-day trip to the nation's capital.

Teachers Sari Harris and John Weaver, along with six parent chaperones, accompanied the students on the trip.

During their visit, the students took in all the usual sites at the capital, including the White House, the Washington Monument, the Pentagon and the Smithsonian.

They even were treated to a ride on the D.C. subway system, which Harris and Weaver said was quite an experience.

"It was a whole feat in itself, getting 20 kids on and off the subway all at the same stop," Weaver joked.

Students also spent time visiting an historic post office and Colonial Williamsburg in nearby Virginia.

But most admitted the most powerful place they visited while there was the Holocaust Museum.

"That was the one (place) everyone seemed most excited about," Harris said. "We do a study here in class on the Holocaust and this was a nice way to tie into that."

Every visitor to the museum is given an identification card of a real Holocaust victim upon entering the museum, Harris said. After a personal, guided tour, visitors are told at the end whether their victim survived the Holocaust.

Sixth grader Sarah Zanotti said the tour of the White House and the Holocaust Museum were the most meaningful to her.

The person whose identity she was given at the Holocaust Museum managed to survive the ordeal, Zanotti said.

Seventh grader Chelsea Sullivan said the person whose identity she received at the museum also survived the Holocaust.

In addition to the museum, Sullivan said she enjoyed touring the White House and the Pentagon.

"Just knowing that your president lives in the White House and you're there is pretty cool," she said.

Eighth grader Beth McCarrier said, aside from the Holocaust museum, her favorite part of the trip was the Washington Monument.

"It was just so tall, it makes it easy to remember," she said.

McCarrier said the Holocaust victim's identity she was given at the museum was another survivor.

Seventh grader Adam Olsen wasn't so lucky. His Holocaust victim did not survive.

"My guy stood up for what he believed in and it got him killed," he said.

Seventh grader Nicole Wilson said her Holocaust victim identity fought hard and barely survived the ordeal.

"She had a terrible time trying to away from the Germans," she said. "But she finally managed to get away to Poland."