Trojans take on the big city
On April 12, THS’ art club and AP U.S. Government and History classes left for New York City. Mr. Touart, the AP U.S. Government and History teacher, and Mrs. Evans, the art teacher, planned the trip and the group stayed for four days. There was a total of 43 people who went on the trip, including students, teachers, and parents.
The group traveled around New York City observing museums and getting an inside look at the history of the city. The trip lasted from Thursday, April 12 until Sunday, April 15.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were the first stops on day one. Early Friday morning, the group took a bus to a train station, which led them to getting on a ferry to tour the sights. The group was able to walk around the Statue of Liberty and go inside of the buildings at Ellis Island.
“The Statue of Liberty was gorgeous. It reminded me of how great our country is. This was my first time in New York and I really enjoyed the experience. It was great to compare how different it is from home,” said senior Jonathan Champion.
The tour guide, Gail Anderson, discussed the importance of the island and she talked about the history of it. While walking the streets, Anderson and Touart pointed out famous buildings and places, such as Trump Tower and Grand Central Terminal.
Soon after, the group walked around the city past the National American Indian Museum and the Charging Bull. They took the subway to Times Square where they were able to shop or walk around. Dinner was at Havana restaurant and after eating, they visited the Museum of Modern Arts. At the Museum of Modern Arts (MoMA), students were able to view well known art like “Starry Night” by Van Gogh.
“When I saw Van Gogh’s work, I honestly thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I really enjoyed the museum. I liked the atmosphere of being around all of the famous pieces. It was so amazing. I loved it so much,” said junior Haley Ashworth.
During free time, the group was given the choice to see a Broadway show or explore the city. There were many Broadway showings throughout the weekend including Wicked and Phantom of the Opera.
On Saturday morning, the group drove to the Tenement Museum on the east side of New York. The museum was an old apartment building from back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The building was a few stories high and it had several rooms inside that had all of the original floors and walls. Inside the rooms were collections of furniture and utensils. The apartment rooms were small and one of them had originally been a family company to make clothes. The history behind these connected with the history of the Dan River Mill back in that era.
Later, the group visited the Grand Central Terminal and the American Museum of National History. The movie The Night of the Museum was filmed in this building and the historical characters in the movie were on display. The museum had a planetarium which showed a production about space and how humans became so familiar with the universe.
Top of the Rock was the next location the THS group visited. This is an observation building that has 70 floors and at the top, it shows a wide view of the city. Looking from the top, one is able to see some of New York trade marks, such as Central Park, Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, and One World Trade Center.
On Sunday morning, the group walked through Central Park and visited the Metropolitan Museum of Arts. The famous painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” was the first piece of art that they looked at. Soon after visited the museum, they got on the bus and headed back to Danville.
The ride to New York was 10 hours long, but this crew had some technical difficulties. On the way to New York, the bus’ air condition unit had broken. Thankfully, a new bus came, but cold air but was still not the case. It took hours for the air to circulate throughout the bus, but Trojans finally arrived at their destination early Friday morning.
Despite a few setbacks, this was a successful trip and gave students, parents, and teachers once in a lifetime opportunities to explore such a diverse city.