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Learn Physics and Explore London all at once!

WCU MODERN PHYSICS STUDY ABROAD

Good News!  Study Abroad Programs are tentatively back on for Summer 2022!  So, I have begun the planning for the Second Summer Session 2022.  Check below for all sorts of details, I will update sections to the 2022 info as it rolls in.  If you want any other info, please get in touch with me (Dr. Waite) using the links at the bottom of the page. 

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MODERN PHYSICS

"Modern physics" is the term usually used to refer to 20th. c. physics which includes an introductory study of quantum mechanics, atomic physics, relativity and nuclear physics. Many of the major advances in physics during the 20th c. happened in Europe and were greatly influenced by the social and political events of the times. For example, we would most definitely not have made such rapid advances in our ability to harness atomic energy if it were not for the "arms race" during the 2nd World War and our need to build the bomb before Germany. And the improvements in travel allowed for meetings of minds between the eminent scientists such as occurred at the Fifth Solvay Conference in Brussels Belgium in 1927. Seventeen of the 29 participants in this meeting went on to win the Nobel Prize. These meetings greatly enhanced the rate at which science was done during this tumultuous century. 

This course is typically the first class beyond the introductory physics courses taken by physics majors and minors. Passing grades in PHY130/140 or PHY170/180 are a pre-requisite for participation in this course and program.

For this program, we will spend the first 2 weeks of the 5-week summer session at West Chester University completing the first 1/2+ of the course material and content. Then we will travel to London for the remaining 3 weeks of our course.

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WHY EUROPE?

In this class we will speak at length and learn about Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Wolfgang Pauli, J.J. Thomson, Ernest Rutherford and Edwin Schrödinger, amongst others. These scientists were primarily from various European countries, and they all worked in European countries. By going to Europe as we learn about these scientists, we will gain a better understanding of who they were, what they were doing, and what were the results of their work. The scientists, and their invaluable contributions to our present understanding of physics, will become more “real” and human as opposed to “someone I once read about in some textbook.” To be successful scientists is to intimately know the work that preceded us, and to use our understanding of that work to progress further. This program/course will provide you with this opportunity for further enlightenment in the physics done during the 20th c. in Europe.
We will visit a variety of sites of interest both to the physics and engineering student (related to science and technology) as well as sites of historical and cultural interest in the broader context of the multifaceted liberal arts education we seek at West Chester University.

​

Another issue that should be noted is a national initiative to more successfully prepare students in higher education for what is called "Career Readiness".   In essence, this is to ensure that graduating students have attained competencies in a number of areas to better prepare them for the workforce beyond college.  A key element of this is Global or Intercultural Fluency.  Upon graduation, you will be working in a global environment; your colleagues, contacts, clients and co-workers will come from a broad spectrum of countries and cultures.  To better prepare yourself for a successful career, it is necessary to begin to experience and meet people from different countries and cultures while you are still on college.  This is an excellent opportunity to start (or continue) that experience with classmates and friends.  

More Information

Schedule

Testimonials

Accommodations

Flights

Passports

Scholarships

Apply NOW!

PHOTO ALBUMS

2011 Photos

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Arrival

Everyone arrives at Heathrow safely!

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Tube

On our way into the city from the airport!

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The 2011 group

The 2011 Group: Warren (& Friend), Caleb, Eric, Julia, Carolyn, Dr. Waite, Matt, Jacob and Jason.

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Old busker at Hampton Court

Old busker at Hampton Court (Jacob Lawton Pic)

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Carolyn and Julia

Carolyn and Julia explore London!

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Warren finds the way...

Warren finds the way... Jacob Lawton took this great picture!

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He won't talk to Julia... #sad.

He won't talk to Julia... #sad. At Hampton Court Palace

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Busker

I see this guy every year when we go, outside the Bayswater Station.

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Here and There!

Here and There! We are in both hemispheres at the Primer Meridian.

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London Eye

The group on the London Eye

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Maritime Museum

Ready to go up the hill to the Royal Observatory!

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Westminster

Julia, Carolyn and Caleb relax on the Westminster Bridge... anyone know what time it is?

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Tower Bridge

Taking a break from exploring the Tower of London.

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Dr. Waite at the Tower

Waiting for the Ravens at the Tower

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Royal Guard

I crush your head!

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Ravens at the Tower!

Ravens at the Tower! Julia almost caught one!

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Bath

The River Avon flows through Bath.

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Huh!

Does Dr. Thornton have a side job?

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Bath Cathedral

Touring Bath, England. Bath Cathedral.

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The Queen is OUT!

No flag flying... she ain't home.

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Stonehenge

Warren waits for the rain at Stonehenge.

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The Tube

You quickly get used to riding the Tube!

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Break Time

Jason, Caleb and Carolyn take a break in Hyde Park.

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Dinner

Had a good Mediterranean Meal!

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Exploring

Exploring Hyde Park, London, England, UK!

2014 Photos

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Riding the Tube

Audree & Alicia

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Science!

Alicia goes to the museum! (Sounds like a kids story!)

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War Rooms

We visited Churchill's War Rooms & under below Westminster.

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World's End

One of the biggest pubs in London!

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Joule

Joule is memorialized in Westminster Abbey.

Pub Lunch!

Pub Lunch!

Ian enjoys a pub lunch!

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Crown Jewels

Dan almost got arrested trying on the "hat".

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Rosetta

We saw the Rosetta Stone in the British Museum (this isn't the real one!)

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Phil & Brandon

Phil & Brandon contemplate physics...

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Hampton Throne

Phil and Dan in the Throne room at Hampton Court

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Rutherford

You're not allowed to take pics inside Westminster Abbey... but we couldn't resist!

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Sherlock

Precisely Dr. Watson!

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Camden Market

Enjoying the variety of foods at Camden Market.

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Market

Food, clothes, stuff at the market!

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Parliament

Alicia gets a good view of Parliament.

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Mind the Gap!

Please, Mind the Gap between the train and the platform.

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Beefeater

Brenda meets a Beefeater at the Tower

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Platform 9 3/4

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station, London, England

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South Kensington

Phil, Ian, Dr. Waite and Cam waiting on a train...

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Red Booth

Brenda calls home!

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Levi and Raven

Levi makes a friend at the Tower of London

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Stonehenge

Yea! Stonehenge!

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Holding Stonehenge

Dr. Waite holds the stones!

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The 2014 Group

F: Austin, Cam, Aaron, Dr. Waite, Brandon, Shane, Brenda. B: Joe, Mike, Alicia, Audree, Ian, Levi, Dan and Phil.

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Meridian

Straddling the Prime Meridian

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Chinatown

Ready for dinner in Chinatown!

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Magic!

Cam and Phil cast some quantum spells!

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Tube Sign

Phil is not making a strange face in this one... strange! (Cam is...)

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Astor Quest!

Ready to go in front of the Astor Quest Hostel!

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Bus

Big Red Buses are all over the place!

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Diana

At the Diana Memorial Fountain.

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Ian makes a friend.

Ian makes a friend in Bath!

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Photo bomb!

Cam photo bombs Audree & Alicia!

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Abbey Road

Is this the original, or a #fake?

2015 Photos

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Pub Crawl

Getting ready for the Soho Pub Crawl

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Rainy London

Jared W was the only one with an umbrella on Day 1 in Hyde Park.

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Diana Fountain

Cooling our feet at the Diana Memorial Fountain

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The Women

Bridget, Hannah, Katlyn, Haley, Val and Brittany.

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The Black Shirt Guys!

A few of the men: Brett, Jared, Luke & Nick.

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Big Ben

The Elizabeth Tower holds Big Ben.

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Eye Selfie

Luke gets a selfie on the London Eye

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The London Eye

Beautiful Day for a view!

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Pub Life

A small boy teaches the crew about London Pub life!

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Mirror, mirror!

This buildings mirrored curve melted cars before it was fixed!

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Across the Pond

Well.. bath, whatever.

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Roman Baths

Turn left Jared... then you'll see what they're talking about!

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Bath Time

Joe, Cam, Brittany and Hannah ponder giving Brett a bath!

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Stonehenge

A few of ups enjoy the old rocks.

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Hearty Laugh

Burhan and Brandon enjoy a healthy laugh at the rocks!

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Prime Meridian

Everyone always enjoys the Primer Meridian.

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Selfie

Dr. Waite attempts a selfie at Hampton Court Palace.

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Hampton Maze

WE found the center of the maze at Hampton Court.

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Camden Market

Look who I ran into at the Camden Market on Saturday!

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Group Photo

F: Hannah, Brittany, Haley, Val, Bridget, Katlyn B: Nick Jared W., Cam, Luke, Burhan, Jared A., Brett, Mike, Joe and Brandon.

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Class time!

Britt, Val and Haley get kooky while studying for the final!

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The 2015 Group

F: Brandon, Val B: Cam, Nick, Brett, Luke, Jared A., Katlyn, Joe, Bridget, Mike, Hannah, Jared W., Brittany and Haley (Burhan is not here).

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The Tube

Making friends on the Tube form the airport to the City!

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Vikings

Don't be fooled... these Vikings are very scary!

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Tired

Well... exploring London can be exhausting!

2018 Photos

Sequoyah making friends

Sequoyah making friends

Sequoyah making friends with the Beefeaters!

Chinatown Meal!

Chinatown Meal!

We had a great meal in Chinatown!

The Site of Tyburn Tree

The Site of Tyburn Tree

Seth found where the gallows used to be...

Sean at Stonehenge

Sean at Stonehenge

Sean smirks at the old rocks!

Lily and a Beefeater

Lily and a Beefeater

Lily won the Scavenger Hunt with all her pictures like this one!

Parker and a Raven!

Parker and a Raven!

Don't let the Ravens escape the Tower Parker!

British Museum Day!

British Museum Day!

A Beautiful day a the British Museum

Really Old Stones...

Really Old Stones...

Alec went missing for this one. Doh!

Camden Market

Camden Market

They've rebuilt the Camden Marketplace

Hampton Court

Hampton Court

Ready to explore Hampton Court Palace

Sushi Night!

Sushi Night!

A nice sushi dinner to expands Lilys culinary experiences!

Greenwich

Greenwich

Finally got to the Prime Meridian in the chaos at Greenwich Observatory

Hi-jinx ensue!

Hi-jinx ensue!

Hi-jinx at Hampton! Do you see Chris for up there?!!?

A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones

So regal looking!!

Lunch at Hampton Court

Lunch at Hampton Court

Sean looks on disapprovingly as Seth fills up on beef!

Exam Day

Exam Day

Oh... we had classes and exams too.

Drop The Bomb on Me!

Drop The Bomb on Me!

This is how they felt after the exam... like a bomb is about to drop!

Pub Dinner

Pub Dinner

A nice English Pub dinner!

The Bloody Tower!

The Bloody Tower!

the first day was at the Tower of London... great starting place!

This is NOT London Bridge!

This is NOT London Bridge!

Matt & Chris check out the Thames

Big Ben.. not the clock or bell.

Big Ben.. not the clock or bell.

Ben is angry at the late train

Chris rocks!

Chris rocks!

Chris checks out the old rocks.

Sean and Lily at White Castle

Sean and Lily at White Castle

Lily and Sean at the Tower

2018 Modern Physics - London

2018 Modern Physics - London

Pictures to come! Stay Tuned!

2019 Photos

Jake and Kelsey fly to London!

Jake and Kelsey fly to London!

London, here we come! On the plane to Merry Ol' England!

Our very first Tube trip!

Our very first Tube trip!

We took the Tube to our hostel in the Holborn neighborhood of London.

Waiting for the Tube

Waiting for the Tube

In fact, we got lot's of experience riding the Tube!

Max and friends on the Tube

Max and friends on the Tube

Mind The Gap between the yellow line and the train!

Ryan visits Waterloo (Station)

Ryan visits Waterloo (Station)

The Tube took us al over London!

At the Tower of London

At the Tower of London

On our second day, we visited the Tower of London.

Ryan, Jake and Max visit the Tower

Ryan, Jake and Max visit the Tower

We actually got some sun that day... but it went away for the first week and a half!

Bankole & a Beefeater

Bankole & a Beefeater

Bankole asked to try on the hat... it was a solid No.

Rainy London

Rainy London

There's our London rain... waiting patiently to see the Cabinet War Rooms.

In the Bunkers

In the Bunkers

In the War Room bunkers!

At the War Rooms

At the War Rooms

Some are so serious.. . some are checking FB.

Joe is happy to get to class!

Joe is happy to get to class!

We did have class a number of days...

Off to Hogwarts!

Off to Hogwarts!

But we also found time to explore London... even found the train to Hogwarts!

Calling Home!

Calling Home!

Hutty call home.

Just Chillin'

Just Chillin'

Dalton call Hutty.

Ugh!  No Thanks!

Ugh! No Thanks!

Uh... never mind, I'll just text you.

Where's Joe!?!?

Where's Joe!?!?

Poor Josiah didn't make it to Hampton, so his classmates drew him in... such a kind bunch!

At the Center of the Maze!

At the Center of the Maze!

We all found the center of the maze at Hampton Court!

Josiah and his friends!

Josiah and his friends!

... and Josiah made friends and sat back in Central London.

Is the Queen home?

Is the Queen home?

He actually did manage to hobble around and see all over the huge city... her's Buckingham Palace.

Stonehenge 2019!

Stonehenge 2019!

Uh... those are just rocks Keenan. The camera is over here!

Bankole at Stonehenge

Bankole at Stonehenge

Bankole tried and tried to get more pics that Josiah!

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It was a chilly day, but no rain at Stonehenge!

Stonehenge

Stonehenge

We got as close as we were allowed on the day before Summer Solstice!

The Roman Baths in Bath

The Roman Baths in Bath

Then we spend the rest of the afternoon in Bath.

Lebanese Dinner

Lebanese Dinner

We tried out some different types of food... here' we are in a Lebanese and Mediterranean restaurant... very good!

The Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory

We had a great visit to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.

On the Prime Meridian

On the Prime Meridian

And we all got to stand in two hemispheres at once!

On the Prime Meridian

On the Prime Meridian

Even in the rain!

Chinatown Dinner 2019

Chinatown Dinner 2019

We tried a new restaurant for our annual Chinatown dinner and it was not as good this year as it was in the past... Gotta go back to the old restaurant next time!

On the London Eye

On the London Eye

We enjoyed a flight on the London Eye to end the trip... great views of all we have seen across London!

So long, London!

So long, London!

So long for now! A great group and trip for 2019 is in the history books now!

2016 Photos

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Go Rams!

No... literally, GO to London!

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The 2016 Group

F: Evan, Jamil, Dr Waite B: Nick, Chris, Amy, Josh, Charlie, Austin, Jia, Val, Peter and Zach

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Our Fearless Leader

Val was a great help in 2016!

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Take Off!

Amy helps Chris take off!

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Rainy Greenwich

Even in the rain, the Royal Observatory was fun!

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Ready to go!

Ready to visit the Tower of London!

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Hey!

Peter is very excited that Chris and Jamil are seeing so many cool things...

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Tower

This is where Anne Boleyn lost her heard! (Literally)

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Faraday!

We found Michael Faraday's house outside Hampton Court Palace.

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Faraday

What physicist doesn't want a picture where Faraday lived!

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Field of Gold

This fountain ran with wine during the Field of Cloth of Gold.

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Hampton Court

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Rainy Bath

There was more rain this year than any of the previous ones. It didn't stop us!

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Bath, England

Enjoying the baths!

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Sunny Stonehenge

It was sunny in the AM for Stonehenge.

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Selfie

The queen of selfies!

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War Rooms

Jamil is NOT amused at Nick's frivolity!

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Amy Rocks!

Amy Rocks!

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Phone Home

We'd all get in if it didn't smell so bad in there!

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Dinner anyone?

Am and Val pick out a nice duck for supper...

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Ready to Learn!

Everyone is ready to learn in the London classroom!

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Mind the Gap...

... between the train and the platform.

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Big Ben Burger

Chris is not afraid!

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Diana Memorial

A nice day for a walk in Hyde Park

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Salute

I made them salute me... clever, huh!?!

CONTACT DR. WAITE

133 Merion Science Center West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383

610 436-2573

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610 436-2573

133 Merion Science Center West Chester University, West Chester, PA 19383

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