The high season for young tourists at the state capitol is winding down with the final field trips of the school year. Each year, about 30-thousand kids tour the statehouse in Des Moines. The kids walk in the first floor through the metal detectors, then when they reach the center, their eyes are drawn up 275 feet to the inside of the golden dome that caps the statehouse. That dome — inside — is painted blue like the sky, with some white clouds. A Civil War-era flag is stretched from one side of the dome to the other. Joan Arnette, the tour guide supervisor at the capitol, had no idea when she started the job 30 years ago that it would turn out to be her career. “I was looking for something and I didn’t really know what I was going to do and so I said ‘Well, I’ll just do this until I figure out what I want to do’ and I’m still here,” she says. “I think I found it.” Arnett is one of two paid tour guides. There are another 16 volunteers who lead tours. Most of the grade school field trips to the statehouse are scheduled from March through the end of May. The tours stop in the governor’s reception area. If the governor’s not working in his office, tour groups can go through the office. Other highlights include the display case that has replicas of all the gowns governors’ wives have worn to their husband’s inaugural balls. Kids in fourth grade and above can all the way to the top, to the upper rim of the dome. Arnett says moon rocks on display in the governor’s office used to be the highlight of the tour for many kids. “The moon rock was a big thing, but once we found out how valuable they were, they were removed from the governor’s office and they’re kept in the museum now where they can be safely stored,” Arnett says. A replica of the battleship Iowa catches kids’ fancy. “They love the battleship…It doesn’t seem to matter if they’re male or female,” she says. “They love going up into the dome — that’s one of their favorite things and they the (law) library. They’re absolutely amazed with the library because it’s so cool.” Arnett and her guides lead the visitors up and down about 400 marble steps during the tour. Arnett says the kids ask a lot of questions. “Some can’t be repeated…kids are so funny,” Arnett says. “Recently, one of our tour guides was about halfway through with her tour…and the young person came up and tugged on her arm and said ‘When’s the tour going to start?'” “I love the kids. They’re just so fun,” Arnett says. One kid once asked her where she was during the fire of 1904 which damaged part of the statehouse. Many ask the tour guides this question: “Where’s your bedroom?” You can find information about the capitol tours on-line at www.legis.state.ia.us/Pubinfo/Tour/