Sophia del Core is celebrated (and decorated) at the Biden Beach Boardwalk.

A small group of prize-winning students got a special treat last weekend: A surprisingly fun-filled trip to home of the Vice President of the United States.

The visit took place on a hot June afternoon in Washington, D.C. Six of the winners of the Weekly Reader Student Publishing Contest ate hot dogs and ice cream, had their faces painted, or slipped down a water slide at the Naval Observatory. That's now the official home of America's Vice Presidents. The residents today are, of course, VP Joe Biden and his 'second lady' wife, educator Jill Biden.

The students had been invited to 'Biden Beach Boardwalk,' an outdoor party that the Vice President and his wife gave for D.C. news reporters. The invitation came from Dr. Jill Biden to the students who had written prize-winning essays or had worked on any of the three winning student newspapers.

Elementary-school students Sophia del Core and Clara Lack of Texas and Micah Fong of California were among the kids celebrating. They were accompanied by their parents. So were middle-schooler Alex Price of Ohio and high-school student Malinda Gowin from North Carolina. 

Robel Yared of Maryland, an editor on the Rockville High School Rampage newspaper, was there with Peter Daddone, the teacher who advised his paper. Two other newspaper advisers—Jennifer Woolf of Texas and Andy Cunningham of Pennsyvlania—were there, too.

Peter Daddone and Robel Yared of The Rockville High School Rampage

Also at the party were well-known TV journalists, including CNN's Wolf Blitzer, CBS's Bob Schieffer, and NBC's Andrea Mitchell. So were some important government officials—in addition to the Vice President. Among them were White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, presidential adviser David Axelrod, and former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.

All attendees were first invited into the VP's home to pose for a picture with the Vice President and Dr. Biden. Students then moved to a big pink-and-white tent on the side of the house where a U.S. Navy band played country music and lunch was served. The steamy afternoon ended with game play on the wide green lawn behind the Veep's home.

The day was so humid, in fact, that some very famous people ended up carrying super-soaker water guns. Vice President Biden sprayed some of the guests, as did Chief of Staff Emanuel—all in fun.

Vice President Joe Biden gets ready to soak or be soaked

"This was awesome!" said Alex Price, echoing the feelings of many of the other students. But what about seeing government leaders playing around? At least one of the kids had an interesting thought about that: "You see images of our Vice President in the newspaper and on television and you see them as larger than life," student editor Robel Yared later told his local newspaper. "But this experience showed me that sometimes even the most powerful people in the world are just like everyone else."

Celebration at the Vice President's residence, the former Naval Observatory

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