The Nobel Peace Prize may be controversial, but you have to love the Nobel Peace Center where the winners are immortalized. Exhibits include a darkened room filled with LED screens in a field of sparkling rods like waving blades of grass. Approach a screen, and it springs to life with a video presentation from a featured Peace Prize winner.

US President Barack Obama is scheduled to receive his prize on December 10 during a ceremony at the nearby Oslo City Hall.

^{Oslo Peace Center Photo © Jackie Craven}

A visitor in our discussion forum writes, "My son has expressed interest in going to college for architecture and was wondering if anyone knows of any good web sites or books that I could get him to see if he really would like to become one."

Fortunately, there are a lot of resources to help students plan ahead. Here are some top picks:

• Become an Architect!
• Before You Choose an Architecture School
• Becoming an Architect, book by Dr. Lee W. Waldrep

Got more ideas? Join the discussion.

When I think of a war monument, I imagine a heavy structure anchored firmly to the earth. But the USS Arizona Memorial floats in the Hawaiian harbor.

Straddling the hull of the sunken USS Arizona ship, the World War II memorial honors the 1,177 crewmen who were killed when their ship was struck by Japanese bombers.

More Great Memorials >>

^{Photo: The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, ArtToday.com}

Forget the bric-a-brac and costume jewelery. What I really want for the holidays is a ticket to one of those Wright Way architecture tours offered by the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust. There's the Wright Meets Art Deco tour in Florida, the Washington DC tour during Cherry Blossom season in April, and even a 12-day architecture tour in Japan.

But if these sound too expensive, how about a leisurely visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio? Please?

• Architecture Trip Tips
• Share Your Gift Ideas

_{Above: The Frank Lloyd Wright Home in Oak Park, Illinois. Photo © Steve Estes}