Fourteen Seal Beach Police Explorers from Explorer Post #1041 visited the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Sunday, March 27.
The Police Explorers were treated to a three-hour guided tour of the 100,000 square foot museum.
The tour took our Explorers through 24 different galleries presenting the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan.
Fittingly, a retired Los Angeles Police officer was the library docent guiding the Explorers on their tour.
He served as a United States Marine Corps sergeant assigned to “Marine One”—the President’s helicopter. He gave our Explorers first-hand accounts of President Reagan.
Coincidentally, Police Explorer Ryan Butters has a brother currently serving in the United States Navy as a machinist’s mate aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan currently serving in Japan as part of our disaster relief mission.
The Ronald Reagan library opened in 1991 and is the final resting place for the 40th president of the United States.
The museum sits on a hill top in Simi Valley (“Reagan” means rolling hills in Gaelic) and presents the life and presidency of Ronald Reagan.
The galleries follow his life growing up in Illinois, to a movie career in Hollywood, to governor of California, and to his two-terms in the White House.
Our Explorers learned about his leadership attributes through interactive displays; including, “Reagonomics,” a 55-foot scale replica of the White House, and an exact replica of the Oval Office.
A tour highlight was a walk on board Air Force One, a Boeing 707. Air Force One had been disassembled and re-assembled inside a massive pavilion.
The Explorers toured inside the aircraft that carried the President all over the world.
The Seal Beach Police Department’s explorer program is a worksite-based program of the Boy Scouts of America and Learning-for-Life’s career education program.
The program is open to young adults, ages 14 to 19. The purpose of the explorer program is to provide experiences that help young people mature and prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.
The explorer program matches its resources to the interests of young people in our community. The result is a program helping youth pursue their special interests, grow and develop. Exploring programs are based on five areas of emphasis: career opportunities, life skills, citizenship, character education, and leadership experience. The visit to the Reagan Library focused on the leadership area of emphasis.
The best way to learn about leadership is to learn about how leaders develop and the decisions leaders must make.
For more information about Seal Beach Police Explorer Post #1041, call Cpl. Michael Henderson at (562) 799-4100, extension 1136.
