A World of Fun

As they say, children are our future. For at least eight hours a day kids are in school learning and socializing and forming the personalities and opinions that will make them who they ultimately grow up to be. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with everything going on in kids’ lives—between sports and social clubs, midterms and senior proms, it can all get a little overwhelming.

Once a week you’ll get an inside look at what’s happening in Cartersville’s schools. From upcoming events you’ll want to attend to fundraisers you’d like to contribute to and special stories that will make you smile, you’ll get the scoop on all things schoolroom.

Some of the most special times children will remember from school are trips taken with classmates to new and exciting places.

Twenty-five of Excel Christian Academy’s fifth-grade students took one such trip to The World of Coca-Cola recently.    

“The kids learned all about the history of Coke and got to see how it’s made,” said Excel’s fifth-grade math teacher, Francie Brown. “We were able to see the assembly process with all the conveyor belts going from carbonation to bottling and all that stuff. The kids loved it.”

Each of the students received a complementary Coke in a glass bottle as a keepsake.

“The highlight of the trip was a 4-D movie about Coke,” Brown said. “It was interactive with seats that moved back and forth. Things popped out and tickled you from the seats, and little squirts of water would splash you. The kids loved it.”

Of course the students got to enter the famous Coke sampling room, where museum guests can taste Coke from around the world. The taste is dramatically different from country to country. The tasting usually ends up being a surprisingly funny experience.

“There were 64 different types of Coke from all different cultures,” Brown said. “There is one notorious Coke called The Beverly. I think it was from Italy, and it tastes like carbonated salt water. The kids all got excited about that one.”

It was an adventure for the students and the teachers from room to room. The kids got to take photos with the classic polar bear mascot.

“The bear’s head moved around, and it blinked,” Brown said. “It was really cool. They were fascinated by the polar bear.”

The students got to see old-fashioned Coke machines and Olympic torches from every year of the games that Coke was a sponsor, and they learned there is a different coke bottle for each state in the nation.

Brown said there is a definite benefit to exposing kids to these kinds of adventures.

“I thought it was great that they realized Coke is not just a U.S. thing and that Coke contributes to the Olympics and provides a lot of jobs all over the world,” Brown said. “Coke is a part of our culture, and the trip let them see the way the country has changed over time just since Coke has been around.”

Excel offers many such field trip opportunities to its students.

“The same day we were at The World of Coke, 18 of our fourth-graders went to the Georgia Aquarium,” Brown said.  “At the aquarium they got a behind-the-scenes tour that was just for the kids. Parents couldn’t even go back there. It was a really special experience for them.”

Excel offers each grade at least one big field trip a year. They go to places like the , the Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta sleepover events, and the kind of big-deal trips that are not only educational, but fun too.