Kearns High School students make ornaments to help light Washington, D.C.

KEARNS — Kearns High School students have done their part to add to the holiday decor in the nation's capital.

Skiers, arches, beehives, sego lilies and hiking trails — all symbols associated with Utah — now adorn a tree in Washington, D.C., thanks to Kearns students.

Led by Kearns High art teacher Noemi Hernandez, students were chosen to create and make decorations to hang on the state's Christmas flora ambassador to Washington.

The students worked with clay and other materials to create ceramic pieces that they felt would properly showcase life in the Beehive State. The works were then put into clear plastic spheres and sent to Washington, where they now adorn the Utah tree at the President's Park.

Utah's tree is one of 56 smaller trees representing all 50 states, five territories and the District of Columbia that combine to make the Pathway of Peace, which surrounds the National Christmas Tree.