♪ Under the blue umbrella ♪ ♪ Yes, under the clear blue sky, ♪ ♪ there's a world to be discovered ♪ ♪ that's full of things to try ♪ ♪ Everything is waiting there ♪ ♪ just for you and me ♪ ♪ Under the blue umbrella ♪ ♪ just take a look and see.

♪ ♪ >> My name is Michael.

That's Stephanie.

Stephanie and her father are visiting.

They're from Taiwan.

Our fathers had some business to take care of today, so my mom and I are showing Stephanie around our town.

♪ We live in Washington, D.C.

It's the capital of the United States.

Every country has a special city where the people who are in charge of the government live and work.

That city is the country's capital.

Washington, D.C. is our capital.

D.C. stands for the District of Columbia.

Washington isn't a part of any state.

It's a separate district.

The president lives here.

Congress meets here.

And other government offices are located here.

♪ Capitol Hill is the highest point in the city.

On top of the hill is the Capitol building.

Congress meets in the Capitol.

Congress is the part of our government that makes these laws for the entire country.

Each state in the United States sends representative to Congress.

Congress is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Every state has two senators and a different number of representatives.

According to the number of people that live in the state.

♪ This is the rotunda.

It's the central hall of the Capitol.

Statues and paintings tell the story of the United States.

♪ See the painting on the ceiling?

It was painted by one man.

It took him 11 months, of lying on his back on the scaffold, high above the floor to finish it.

♪ After Congress makes laws, the Supreme Court decides whether these laws are fair or not.

Supreme court is the most important court in our country.

♪ The president is the chief executive of the United States.

He lives at the White House and his office is there.

The White House is at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Every president except the first one has lived there.

The president's home was burned by the British during the War of 1812.

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

The White House is a big home.

It has 132 rooms and 20 beds.

The president and his family only live in a part of the White House.

The rest is open to the public because the White House belongs to everyone in the United States.

♪ Washington, D.C. was built to be the capital city of our country.

Most of the people who work in Washington, D.C. work for the United States government.

Many of the buildings here are the offices of some government agencies.

♪ This is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

♪ It's one of the most interesting places to visit in Washington, because all of our country's paper money is printed here.

It's against the law for anyone else but the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to make money.

♪ Paper money doesn't last long.

because it's made of paper and can't take a lot of wear.

A $1 bill only lasts about two months.

New money has to be made so that it will be ready when it's needed.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Here's the Department of State.

The people who work here represent the United States to other countries.

♪ Other countries also send people to Washington to represent them.

These people live and work in buildings called embassies.

Each embassy belongs to the country that built it.

And the land it's on is considered foreign soil.

♪ Many of Washington's museums are part of the Smithsonian Institute.

A wealthy English scientist left all his money to the United States to start this museum.

Mr. Smithson had never been to the United States, but was mad at his own country.

He gave all his money to our country to increase and spread knowledge among all men.

♪ ♪ All these buildings are part of the Smithsonian Institute, but each one has a different kind of museum.

♪ This is the National Archives.

♪ Some of our country's most important papers are on display here.

They have the original copy of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

These three little pieces of paper are the basis for our whole government.

If they hadn't been written, there probably would not be a United States.

♪ There are many monuments in Washington.

They're all in honor of famous Americans.

They help remind us of what these people did for our country.

This is the Washington Monument.

It was built to honor our country's first president, George Washington.

In fact, the whole city honors George Washington since it was named for him.

He never lived here, but his home is nearby.

♪ Thomas Jefferson was our third president.

He's best known for something he did before he was elected president.

♪ Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, telling why our country should be free and independent.

It was one of the three documents at the National Archives because of all the things Jefferson did for his country, the people of the United States built this memorial to honor him.

♪ The Lincoln Memorial is on the line with the Capitol and the Washington Monument.

♪ Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States.

He was president during the war between the States, when our country was divided into two parts.

The North and the South were fighting each other.

Lincoln kept the country together and said, nobody can keep slaves anymore.

♪ ♪ There are 36 columns on the Lincoln Memorial.

Each one stands for a state.

There were only 36 states in the United States when Lincoln was president.

Arlington National Cemetery is just outside of Washington.

It's a memorial, not just for one person, but to the many people who are buried there.

♪ One special monument stands alone, high on a hill.

It's the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Sometimes they have special ceremonies here.

That's the ambassador for Israel.

He's placing a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

♪ A soldier was buried here, but nobody knows who he was.

He represents all the young men and women who died to keep our country free.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is Mount Vernon.

It's the place I was telling you about earlier.

It was the home of our first president.

("Yankee Doodle" instrumental plays) Mount Vernon is on the Potomac River.

Washington lived here except when he was serving his country.

♪ George Washington was a soldier, and he led our army during the Revolutionary War.

General Washington helped our country become free.

He was elected the first president of the United States by the people of our country.

There's an old saying about George Washington when he was first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen, and father of this country.

♪ George Washington was a great man, that's why our capital city was named for him.

♪ ♪ Just think.

This city is the center of our American government.

Washington, D.C. is really a very special city.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪