From left to right: UMW senior Brooke Prevedel, UMW Professor of Geography Steve Hanna and Fredericksburg Area Museum’s Gaila Sims

University of Mary Washington senior Brooke Prevedel and Professor of Geography Steve Hanna spent more than 100 hours making the map at the center of a new Fredericksburg Area Museum exhibit.

“I spent most of my time hunched over my drawing tablet looking at it in extra blown-up proportions,” said Prevedel, a historic preservation and classical archaeology double major who’s earning a certificate in GIS.

High-tech tools like her tablet, and computer programs and apps, helped the pair create the map, which shows the 1824 journey of the Marquis de Lafayette through America’s 24 states. But meticulous attention to detail – like the mountain ranges Prevedel cranked out by hand for a fountainpen feel – tell a story they hope will take visitors back to the 19th century. Read more.

Ayla Zook (fourth from left, sitting) works with her teammates at UMW’s Dahlgren Campus during the third annual High School Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren. The team, from King George County High School, took top prize, claiming $3,500 for STEM learning at their school. Photo by Dave Ellis.

Brainstorming, creativity and teamwork are some of the tactics that led a group of King George County high-schoolers to the top. “We overcame it together,” student Ayla Zook said of the last-minute coding issues that threatened to deter the team’s win at this month’s High School Innovation Challenge @ Dahlgren.

More than 100 students from public and private schools, from Stafford to the Northern Neck, turned out for the third annual robotics-style competition at the University of Mary Washington’s Dahlgren Campus on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2. The winning team from King George walked away with a cash prize of $3,500, a giant trophy and bragging rights … at least until next year’s event.

Westmoreland High School took second place, winning $2,500, and Fredericksburg Christian School came in third, claiming $1,500. The teams battled it out in lightning rounds, completing an “ENRG” mission that required them to engage by assembling robots to navigate challenging terrain on a quest to recover critical hardware while gathering intel and maintaining mission awareness. In addition to cash, winners took home robotics kits for their schools. Read more.

The City of Fredericksburg and the University of Mary Washington on Thursday, Feb. 8, announced that the Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail has been added to the national collection of landmarks that make up the U.S. Civil Rights Trail.

The U.S. trail, which spans 15 states, includes churches, schools, museums and other locations that played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. Fredericksburg’s Civil Rights Trail, “Freedom, A Work in Progress,” is the only one of the four sites inducted this year to the U.S. trail that is not a single entity, adding 21 stops to the national narrative.

Community members – many of whom had gathered at the trail’s official launch a year ago – attended an announcement event, held at Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), the first stop on the three-mile journey that winds through parts of historic downtown and the UMW campus. Prominent Black citizens and pastors of the church, including the Rev. B.H. Hester and the Rev. Lawrence Davies, played critical roles in the struggle for civil rights and social justice. Read more.