Middle School Students Explore Art, History and Culture at the Met

To deepen their understanding of related curricula from their history, English, Latin and art classes, the sixth grade class headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Chaperones for this hands-on adventure included Brittany Farrar, Mark Tamucci, Bruce Robbins, Katie Meadows, Dan Russo and Donna Komosinski.

Wrapping up their social studies unit on Civilizations of the Americas: the Maya, Aztec, and Inca Empires of Latin America, students explored the “Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art” exhibition. In preparation for their Minecraft Domus projects in Latin class, the sixth graders viewed the Roman gallery and related sections of the “Chroma" exhibit to learn about polychromy and the vibrant colors of Roman sculpture. 

“I liked being able to go through all the different sections of the museum, like the Mayan one and the Latin part,” Clara Brooks said. “It was really interesting to see the art exhibits.”

Jack Barek enjoyed the freedom of being able to explore the world-renowned museum. “Seeing the Latin part was the coolest because there were real Roman pieces and you could look at them and think, ‘That was made thousands and thousands of years ago.’”

For Abraham Wesner, the Roman murals and sculptures inspired him: “With the statues, some were broken and some had no nose so it was fun to draw them and sketch them out.”

The sixth graders also completed a scavenger hunt in the American Wing, searching through the Hudson River School landscape paintings that they have studied in art class.

“I was so impressed with the focus and investment of our students on the activities we planned for them,” said Farrar, middle school languages teacher. “They really took initiative and helped each other get as much as they could out of visiting each gallery.”

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