An art museum enveloped in nature – that is exactly what the tenth grade had the opportunity to enjoy on their IDEAL day.
The group of excited (and exhausted) sophomores hopped off the bus ready to explore the land in front of them. Incognizant of what exactly Storm King was, I wanted to set forth and find out as soon as possible. The freezing weather definitely sped up the usually slow walking group and, as our teachers led us through the meadows, we began to see some surprising things: sculptures seemingly growing from the ground.
Walking amongst this type of artwork allowed us to experience it in a different way. Museums are often perceived as stuffy and cold, places where we are forced to talk in whispers. However, the Storm King Art Center, destroyed this conventional idea of viewing art and created an environment of inclusion and connection between art and its spectator.
Our teachers did an amazing job of facilitating this experience. At different points along the walk, we were called upon to participate in writing and art activities that connected us even further with our surroundings. We wrote stories about a glass house on a hill and who, in our opinion, left the windows open. We wrote poems that followed the shape of an S-shaped wall that traveled into a pond and back out. We also drew the art we saw from different perspectives and shared our interpretations of a sculpture by Maya Lin with the group. Finally, we reflected on the idea of reflection as we all stared into a mirrored picket fence.
Back here at Hewitt, we brought the work we did into the classrooms, seamlessly continuing the conversations. Since then, we have investigated our responses further and shared each of our experiences. Indeed, the trip to Storm King was a creative and thought-provoking experience for Hewitt‘s sophomores.
