♪ ♪ There's a world ♪ somewhere near ♪ ♪ A world we've come to know ♪ ♪ Your family and you ♪ can search for it too ♪ ♪ A place that will help us ♪ to grow ♪ ♪ There's a world ♪ somewhere near ♪ ♪ under beautiful skies ♪ ♪ You can find it and say ♪ on a bright, sunny day ♪ ♪ Under the Yellow Balloon ♪ ♪ Yes, ♪ Under the Yellow Balloon ♪ ♪ Mother> Are you sure you have everything, Joanne?

Joanne> I'm sure.

Mom, should I pack my scrapbook or carry it with me?

Mother> Well, do you think you're going to need it before we get to Washington?

Joanne> My teacher said to write down everything I saw or did while we were in Washington.

Mother> Why don't you carry this with you?

It's smaller, and you can write all your notes in here and then copy them over in your scrapbook.

Joanne> Mom, I'm going to keep a good scrapbook about our trip to Washington.

♪ I'm taking a plane ♪ to Washington ♪ ♪ where my father is ♪ working now ♪ ♪ ♪ He's going ♪ to show us everything ♪ ♪ We are going to see ♪ all that there is to see ♪ ♪ ♪ Washington ♪ ♪ Washington ♪ Father> Well, Joanne, what do you want to see?

Joanne> I want to go there.

Father> Okay.

The White House is the first stop tomorrow morning.

Mother> There's where we are, The White House and the Treasury Department.

Father> Hey, that's a good picture.

I didn't know you were a photographer.

You know, starting at the White House was a good idea.

Most people think of the White House when they think of Washington.

Every president of the United States has lived here, except George Washington.

Joanne> Has it always been painted white?

Father> No.

It was painted white after the War of 1812, when the British attacked Washington and burned the President's home.

The building was painted white to cover the burned walls, and it's been known as the White House ever since that time.

The president is the chief executive of the United States.

He has his offices here.

Here the president and first lady greet important guests from all over the world.

Balls and receptions are held in the East Room, and dinners for royal visitors are held in the State Dining Room.

Not all of the 132 rooms in the White House are open to the public.

The President's family lives in 54 of those rooms.

Joanne> Dad, when we were going into the White House, you said that the president was the chief... Father> Chief executive.

Joanne> What does that mean?

Mother> You two go sit down and talk, I'll get us something to drink.

Father> Our government is divided into three branches.

The first branch makes the laws.

The second branch interprets or explains the laws.

And the third branch enforces them.

The president is the head of this third branch.

He's the highest ranking official in our government.

Mother> And Joanne, the president is an elected official.

Every four years, the people of the United States vote on the person they think can run the country best.

Joanne> So the president is head of the branch of government that puts laws into effect.

Who explains the laws?

Father> The Supreme Court, we can go there next.

The United States Supreme Court is the highest court in the nation.

All courts are responsible for interpreting laws but the Supreme Court has a final say on many important issues which affect all the people in the country.

There are eight associate justices and a chief justice, who are appointed by the president to serve on the Supreme Court for the rest of their lives.

Joanne> What's the third branch of government called?

Father> Congress.

Up there is Capitol Hill.

That's where the two houses of Congress meet to make laws for our country.

Over there in the north wing, the Senate meets.

Here in the south wing, the House of Representatives meet.

Joanne> I'm tired.

Father> Well, let's sit down over here for a while.

Every state has two senators, so all states are represented equally, no matter what size they are.

Joanne> Since there are 50 states, there are 100 senators.

Father> That's right.

Now it's different in the House of Representatives.

The number of representatives from each state depends on the number of people who live in the state.

Joanne> So a state with more people would have more representatives, than a state with less people.

Dad, don't you work for a senator?

Father> I sure do, but our office is in another building.

Come on, let's go take your picture over by the Capitol.

Joanne> But I've got to write all this down before I forget it.

Mother> I'll write it down for you.

Go let dad take your picture.

Father> Smile.

Joanne> Can we go see the Senate meet?

Father> Not this trip.

Congress isn't in session, but we can go see the Rotunda.

♪ ♪ Mother> Oh, Joanne look it's beautiful.

♪ ♪ Father> We'll see more of the Capitol, next time.

Mother> I'll be glad when we sell our house and Joanne and I can move up to Washington with you.

Father> I will be, too.

It's been a long month.

I was afraid Joanne's teacher wouldn't let her miss that week of school to come up here with you.

Joanne> My teacher said it'd be okay if I kept a good scrapbook.

♪ Father> Joanne, do you know who George Washington was?

Joanne> Sure.

He was the first president of the United States.

Father> That's right.

He was a soldier before he was elected president.

General Washington led our troops during the American Revolution, when the United States became an independent country.

Mount Vernon was George Washington's home.

It's on the Potomac River, just outside the capital.

When Washington was 14 years old, he came to live here at his brother's home.

When his brother died, Washington became the owner of the plantation.

Today, Mount Vernon looks almost like it did when George and Martha Washington lived here.

The capital city was being planned when George Washington was president.

The city was named after him.

Joanne> What state is Washington in?

Father> It's not in any state.

Several states gave up land for the city.

It's in the District of Columbia.

Joanne> That's why it's Washington, D.C., District of Columbia.

Father> That's right.

The Washington Monument was built to honor George Washington.

It's one of the tallest buildings in the area.

Joanne> We saw the Washington Monument from our plane, didn't we, Mom?

Mother> We sure did.

Joanne> I can get a good picture of it from here.

(camera snapping picture) Father> There are a lot of other monuments and memorials in Washington that honor famous people from our country's past.

This is the Jefferson Memorial.

It was built to honor Thomas Jefferson, our country's third president.

Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence.

A document that told why our country should be a free and independent nation.

Jefferson was also an architect.

His memorial was built to look like some of the buildings he designed.

The Lincoln Memorial honors our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was president during the Civil War, when our country was divided into two sections which fought each other.

Lincoln kept the country together and freed the slaves.

There are 36 columns around the Lincoln Memorial because there were 36 states in the Union when Lincoln was president.

The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts is a living memorial to John F. Kennedy, the country's 35th president.

He was president when your mom and I were in school.

They have concerts and shows here all the time.

From the rooftop, you can see most of Washington.

Over there is Arlington Cemetery.

It's probably the largest memorial in Washington.

At Arlington National Cemetery, you see graves of soldiers who have fought in our country's wars.

A guard marches back and forth at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier all day and night.

Every hour this guard is changed in a special ceremony.

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors all those soldiers who died in battle, but could not be identified.

This is a Marine Corps War Memorial.

It's also called the Iwo Jima Statue.

It's modeled after a news photograph that was taken during World War Two on a Pacific island.

The six Marines are raising the American flag to proclaim their victory.

(camera shutter snapping) ♪ Ready?

Are you tired, Joanne?

Joanne> Uh-huh.

But I got a lot of pictures for my scrapbook.

♪ Where are we going today, dad?

Father> To the museums.

Joanne> Museum?

I don't want to go to an old museum.

Mother> Joanne, I think you're going to be very surprised at these old museums.

Joanne> I don't think so.

♪ ♪ Museums are just buildings ♪ ♪ But they can be ♪ interesting places to be ♪ ♪ ♪ So many things are inside ♪ ♪ Sometimes it is ♪ hard to decide ♪ ♪ The old and the new things ♪ are kept in these buildings ♪ ♪ for all to see ♪ ♪ Museums can teach you ♪ so much ♪ ♪ In this room ♪ are things you can touch ♪ ♪ Here are some dresses ♪ ♪ the first ladies wore ♪ ♪ almost two centuries before ♪ ♪ The first capsule ♪ in space ♪ ♪ with a man ♪ ♪ and the Wright brother's plane ♪ built by hand ♪ ♪ Then there are sculptors, ♪ quite large ♪ ♪ here at the Museum of Art ♪ ♪ Mother> Well, Joanne, what do you think about museums now?

Joanne> I guess I was wrong.

The museums were fun.

Father> Do you think you have enough material for your scrapbook on Washington?

Joanne> I probably do.

That'll make a good picture.

Since I'm here, I'll take one more.

(camera shutter snapping) "America the Beautiful" Instrumental ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ (theme music begins) ♪ ♪ ♪