The Center for Gifted Studies

Twenty-three travelers have returned home after a 10-day study abroad trip to Germany with Dr. Julia Roberts, Dr. Richard Roberts and Dr. Tracy Inman of The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU.

“Traveling to Germany was such an enjoyable experience for the students, parents and educators who traveled,” said Mahurin Professor of Gifted Education Dr. Julia Roberts. “The main purpose of any of our study abroad trips is to have an enjoyable time abroad while learning more about the culture we experienced. I would say we most certainly accomplished this in our trip to Germany.”

The Center for Gifted Studies’ travel trips are meant for students, parents and educators.

“The trip was amazing and I especially liked King Ludwig’s castles,” said Noah Latham of Franklin, a first-time traveler with The Center who went on this most recent trip to Germany. “The Neuschwanstein Castle set up on the top of a mountain was my favorite castle. The details he included in his design of the castles, both inside and out, even down-to-the-minute details in each room were incredible.

“The one thing that sticks out to my mom (Lydia, who joined Noah on the trip) and me is the concept of ‘old’ being very different in Germany than it is in the United States. Our tour guide told us that a city’s wall was obviously a lot newer than the others and when we asked how old it was, she replied only 800 years old. Truly unbelievable!”

“One thing we try to do with each travel abroad trip is to focus on several distinct threads,” Dr. Roberts said. “With this Germany trip, we focused on those parts of Bavaria with a tie to World War II and the Middle Ages while also looking at contemporary Germany.”

For the World War II thread of the trip, travelers went to the city of Nuremberg where the trial took place, to Dachau to visit a concentration camp, and Obersalzberg to see the former southern headquarters of the Third Reich.  During the time in Obersalzberg, travelers got to see the Documentation Center as well as some of the bunkers built for Hitler yet never used.

To highlight the Middle Ages, travelers visited the walled city of Rothenberg and the beauty of Dinkelsbuhl. They visited Neuschwanstein Castle as well as two other castles built by Ludwig II. Travelers also saw what contemporary Germany has to offer, when they visited the Olympic Park in Munich, saw the BMW headquarters, and viewed the beautiful countryside in Salzburg, Austria.

“While the trips are fun, travelers also have educational opportunities at every turn,” Dr. Roberts said. “This trip was another great travel abroad experience, and I cannot wait for Italy in the spring.”

The Center’s next study abroad trip is scheduled for March 28 through April 6.

For information on The Center’s trip to Germany or the next trip to Italy, contact Zack Ryle at (270) 745-3014 or at zachary.ryle@wku.edu.

About The Center for Gifted Studies: Located on the WKU campus in Bowling Green, The Center for Gifted Studies has been serving children who are gifted and talented, their educators, and their parents for 30 years. The Center provides exciting educational opportunities for gifted young people, rigorous professional development for teachers, and support for parents of gifted young people. Under the direction of Dr. Julia Roberts, The Center has become one of the preeminent advocates for gifted education in the United States. The Center believes that when gifted young people meet their extraordinary potential, our communities, our state, our nation—even our world—become better places. That is why each school year, The Center renews its commitment to encouraging excellence by providing quality programming and resources for gifted students, their teachers and their parents.