Father Michael Tidd’s Field Trip

For most people, it was a cold, rainy Tuesday morning. For most Delbarton students, it was the first day back from Thanksgiving break. For all of Fr. Michael’s freshman history students, it marked an exciting trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Whether we had been there or not, it was an exciting notion to add on another full day of missed classes to an already 6-day long Thanksgiving break. This field trip was more than just missing classes for a day. It was an educational experience, enhancing our studies on the Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

We had spent the first three months of the school year learning about the Ancient Egyptians and Greeks, and we had started learning about the Romans as well. As soon as we arrived at the Museum, we took a look at the Egyptian statues and artifacts. Adjacent was the Greek gallery, and we discussed the similarities and differences between Egyptians and Greek statues. The Egyptian statues showed no emotion, looked authoritative, were clothed, and looked up towards the sky. In contrast, Greek statues showed emotion, varied in stature, were nude (as was common), and looked in many different directions. One similarity we noticed was that all statues in both cultures stood with one foot stepping forward—something we thought signified that they were moving towards something.

After viewing many real-life examples of artwork from that time, it was our turn to be amazed at something else— the cafeteria prices! While a plate of pasta probably isn’t worth $16, we were all famished after an hour-and-a-half-long bus ride, and strolling around the museum for two hours. We learned some important lessons here too, such as; bring more than $5 for lunch at a museum, frozen yogurt costs more than you think it does, don’t buy water bottles when there are water fountains right outside, and don’t bring your food outside of the cafeteria or you will be yelled at by security(!).

On our way out the door, we took a look at two statues of the Roman gods of harvest. These statues were inherited by the museum from Delbarton! They were sold for $500,000 a piece to the museum, and they were quite marvelous to view in person.

Overall, it was a great trip! Thank you to Father Michael for arranging this trip enhancing our history studies. We benefited from seeing so many great artifacts in person, and we enjoyed missing classes! As we continue our studies, we will remember this field trip as a great experience that made our studies more enjoyable.