Created as an example of how to capture personal learning experiences and express one's own creativity, this book highlights a few of the places the author visited in the summer of 2023.

Summer 2023: A Visual Journal By Michael Hernandez

I'm a huge fan of mid-century designers <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_and_Ray_Eames">Charles and Ray Eames</a>. Their iconic <a href="https://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/lounge-chair-and-ottoman/">lounge chair</a>, tables, and <a href="https://eames.com/en/articles/eameschair">furniture</a> designed for <a href="https://www.hermanmiller.com/">Herman Miller</a> are fill the pages of Dwell and museums around the world. In June, I was able to visit their <a href="https://eamesfoundation.org/house/eames-house/">home in Los Angeles</a> for the first time. Built as a case study in 1949, the box is filled with light, its exterior reminiscent of a Mondrian painting.

Composition A (1920) by Piet Mondrian. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall.

I've visited <a href="https://www.nps.gov/manz/index.htm">Manzanar</a> Japanese internment camp, and even <a href="https://www.mauthausen-memorial.org/en/History/The-Mauthausen-Concentration-Camp-19381945">Mauthausen</a> concentration camp in Austria. But this summer I visited <a href="https://www.nps.gov/hamp/index.htm">Hampton National Historic Site</a>, and for the first time, stepped foot on a plantation. It was a powerful experience to walk in a space once inhabited by enslaved people. One of several excursions as part of the <a href="https://www.montgomerycollege.edu/events/digital-storytelling-conference-2023/index.html">International Digital Storytelling Conference</a>, we heard from a woman whose ancestors lived on this plantation as slaves.

This is no Disneyland! Los Angeles-based, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry designed <a href="https://www.laphil.com/about/our-venues/about-the-walt-disney-concert-hall">Walt Disney Concert Hall</a> prior to his famous <a href="https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/the-building">Guggenheim Museum</a> in Bilbao, Spain. It now houses one of the best philharmonics in the world, and is home to many unique styles of concerts, including commissioned contemporary compositions, performed by the <a href="https://www.laphil.com/">LA Phil</a>. Sheathed in a stainless steel skin, the interior is full of light, as Gehry's designs famously allow exterior light into every room).

Los Angeles is filled with iconic architecture, much of which is featured in films and TV commercials. <a href="https://www.unionstationla.com/">Union station</a> is no different, with its 1930's architecture welcoming train travelers to Downtown LA. We stopped here with out of town friends after grabbing tacos on <a href="https://www.olvera-street.com/">Olvera Street</a>, and before heading out to Hollywood.

I love contemporary art, and the <a href="https://hammer.ucla.edu/">Hammer Museum</a> in Los Angeles is my favorite museum here. Always filled with hyper-contemporary work, some made the year of exhibition, and some retrospectives dating back 40 years, I'm always surprised, delighted, and pushed to think differently about creativity, perception, and the role of artists. Free admission and free summer concerts made it a great place to visit with my friends visiting from out of town. But I've also seen contemporary films, attended a mindfulness session, and other events right next door to UCLA.

The entryway of UCLA's Hammer Museum includes this temporary installation by Chiharu Shiota.

<a href="http://www.michael-hernandez.net/">Michael Hernandez</a> is an award-winning teacher, international speaker, author, and curriculum designer who helps individuals and organizations discover and share authentic stories that matter. He has been featured in Forbes, Edutopia, PBS, NPR, and SXSW EDU. His book, <a href="https://bit.ly/StorytellingWPBook">Storytelling With Purpose,</a> addresses challenges in education like artificial intelligence, low student engagement, and how to leverage student curiosity as the engine for learning. As a trusted expert, he has worked with schools, tech startups, non-profits, and corporations to develop their brand and engage their stakeholders. Clients include Apple, Adobe, Google, and National Geographic. His podcast and monthly newsletter, <a href="https://bit.ly/ChngNarSignup">Change The Narrative</a>, has a global audience of thousands. Michael is an Apple Distinguished Educator, PBS Digital Innovator, and National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellow. Follow him on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/changing.the.narrative/">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://bit.ly/MHLinked">Linked In</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/cinehead">Twitter</a>, and <a href="mailto:https://www.threads.net/@changing.the.narrative">Threads</a>.

Sitting atop a knoll in the middle of Hollywood, the UNESCO World Heritage Site, <a href="https://hollyhockhouse.org/">Hollyhock House</a>, was built by Frank Lloyd Wright prior to his famous <a href="https://fallingwater.org/">Falling Water</a> house. One of four FLW-designed buildings in Los Angeles, it recently underwent preservation and a major overhaul. Inspired by its namesake flower, graphic renditions of hollyhocks adorn furniture, columns, and other details throughout the home. It is now owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles.

The namesake flower grows in the south garden

Slave quarters at one of the largest plantations in Maryland.

Geometric tile pattern on the entryway floor of the Moshulu, a tall ship restaurant in Philadelphia.

The historic Eames Home, an example of mid-century modernist architecture, was co-designed by Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen.

My first time back to Philadelphia in four years, I attended two conferences: <a href="https://www.techlearning.com/events">Tech &amp; Learning</a>, and <a href="https://conference.iste.org/2023/program/search/detail_session.php?id=116581727">ISTE Live</a>. They both gave me the chance to network and meet new colleagues, and catch up with old friends. The concluing dinner and reception to Tech &amp; Learning was on board the Moshulu, a historic tall ship in Philadelphia on the Delaware River.