Each year, third graders in a rural Missouri intermediate elementary school are presented with a challenge--to collaborate on a virtual adventure to the nation's capital to find answers to these questions: (1) What were the main purposes of the Declaration of Independence?; (2) What is the purpose of the United States Constitution?; and (3) Why is the national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner," a symbol of the United States? These students are in an eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) classroom, in which their teacher uses technology effectively to teach social studies. The Virtual Trip to Washington, D.C. is a webquest that exemplifies how best practices in elementary social studies can build upon students' desire to learn with the use of collaboration, discovery, problem solving, reflection, and assessment. The activity builds on learning objectives for the third grade--to learn about founding documents (the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution) and about one of America's symbols (the national anthem). These learning objectives are outlined in Missouri's "Social Studies Grade Level Expectations." This article describes how a teacher and his students seek answers to these important questions. (Contains 3 tables and 4 notes.)