Museum Visits

7th and 8th Grade Museum Field Trip

The 7th and 8th graders enjoyed an afternoon field trip to the Mexic-Arte Museum and UT Ransom Center on November 3rd. This trip brought together the Mexic-Arte's Dia de los Muertos celebration, where our Frida mosaic, created last April in Art class, is in the Viva la Vida exhibit, and the viewing of the Ransom Center's original Frida Kahlo painting, "Self Portrait with Hummingbird and Thorn Necklace."

The girls and faculty chaperones Senoras Hoover, Dinan, and Rayburn, as well as several gracious parents, began with a picnic lunch on the grounds of UT before their Ransom Center foray. Upon entering the museum, the beautiful painting of Frida greeted us. We had enough time to also take in the Gutenberg Bible, the first photograph, and the Edgar Allen Poe exhibit.

Afterwards, the Mexic-Arte Museum provided us with a poignant and informative tour before culminating in the viewing of our Frida! We were all touched by the unusual and colorful Day of the Dead Altars, and came away with a greater understanding of Hispanic culture. We were honored to be a part of the exhibit.

Fifth Grade Visits Harry Ransom Center

On Friday, October 16 the fifth grade visited the Harry Ransom Center. We went first to a reading room to view real medieval manuscripts that had been pulled especially for us from the archives. Madison's mom, Janine Barchas, talked with us about how manuscripts used to be made and who would've used them. We viewed some graduals made by monks, which contain words and music of hymns that would be sung by a church choir. The graduals were very big, and we also looked at some pocket-sized books, called books of hours. They were so precious you had to put your hands behind your back when you looked at them, so as to resist the urge to touch them.

After that, we viewed something completely different: From Out That Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Edgar Allan Poe. We saw photos, books, drafts (including the original draft of The Raven!) and illustrations. The highlight of the visit was playing a game in which the students listened to a passage from one of Poe's short stories and had to hunt for a matching illustration on the wall.

The next week the fifth grade had an opportunity to make their very own illuminated manuscripts. The students each picked a phrase and created a decorative first letter using colored and gold paint. Then they completed the passage by using a feather quill and a medieval-style script.