On a cold, dark morning in March, the clock moved painfully slowly for a group of about fifty young art students who waited patiently for it to be nine o’clock, the designated time to leave school on a much-anticipated field trip.

March 10th was an exciting day for these students as they prepared to head into Washington, DC to visit two art museums, The Hirshhorn and The National Gallery of Art.

It was officially 9:15 AM and the students from Ms. Cooper’s studio classes and Ms. Salem’s photography classes were standing outside by the bus loop, waiting for some of the other students and teachers to join them. When everyone arrived, the students and teachers gathered on the bus, teachers took attendance and gave maps of the destination to the many students, and then they were on their way.

As soon as the bus arrived at the Hirshhorn, the two teachers went over some important museum rules including,  “Don’t get too close to the work and NO TOUCHING THE ARTWORK!” said Ms. Cooper. “If you get too close, a beeping noise will go off and security will come over. Keep track of your partner or partners. We’ll stay in the Hirshhorn Museum until 11, then we’ll walk TOGETHER over to the Gallery of Art.

Ms. Salem added, “Photography – you are able to take pictures unless there’s a sign saying otherwise. If you aren’t sure, ask.”

Students entered the Hirshhorn Museum, had their bags checked, and then split up with their partners. As they made their way upstairs to the third floor, they found “Big Man,” a large realistic, naked man sculpture in the corner of an empty room by artist Ron Mueck.

“It looks like his mom punished him and then sent him in timeout,” said one of the students.

The group of students walked through the various rooms to see the other exhibits as assistants at the museum guided them along. In the next room, they found a room with a huge dark grey “rock” taking up all the space. “What is this?” they all asked in confusion.

Little did they know, it wasn’t just a decoration that was in the museum, but artwork, a piece titled “The End of Ending” by Eduardo Basualdo.

Students continued to walk around and through the breathtaking exhibits until they came across a dome of what looked like glass with neon lights formed into words. Without looking at the description, the students stood in confusion. “What does that say?” they all asked.

Walking around in endless circles, they tried to figure out where to start.

“Is that say continent?” one said.

“I think it says from continent to continent,” replied another.

‘Well, what does that mean?” was the reply.

“Maybe it has something to do with traveling or something like that,” said the other.

A little after that exhibit, the students went back downstairs to meet up with the rest of their classmates and teachers. They left and walked back into the misty weather to go to the National Gallery of Art.

“Guys, get over by the grass to take a picture,” requested Ms. Cooper.

The students all walked over and tried to look halfway decent for the picture, wearing hoods on their heads and squinting their eyes from the rain and snow.

After attempting to take the picture, they all walked across the National Mall to the National Gallery of Art like a herd of sheep. Once again, they split up into their groups to explore the museum. Some went to the east side while others remained on the west side. Without realizing that the west side contained all the older arts and the east side the modern art, most students were confused as to why they were seeing all old artwork.

Various questions could be heard in the hallways and exhibits. “Why is everyone naked?” students asked each other.

And one group who came upon a water fountain was perplexed.  “I see pennies in there, but are we actually allowed to throw pennies in there?” asked one girl to her group.

“I’m not sure but, if you really want to, then just do it,” came the reply.

“Well, let me see if I have a penny first,” she offered.

After trying to decide whether or not to toss a penny,  they moved on to the next room.

“Ooo, sandal goals,” offered one person in the group.

“Where are their clothes?” questioned another.

“Is this…” began another.

These thoughts and many like them were constantly repeated throughout the room. Then the group walked through to find Pointillism, a type of painting technique.

“What if Ms. Cooper made us do that?” asked one of the students.

“I’m dropping out,” the other studio student replied with laughter.

After walking around a little bit more, it was time to meet back up with everyone else at the Cascade Café. Little did everyone know, the museum has more than one café. So most people ended up at the Garden Café rather than the Cascade.

While eating, everyone reminisced on the day’s events and spent quality time with one another. Eventually, everyone made their way to the bus and remained quiet on the way back to school.

After visiting these two world-class museums for the day, PB Art Students found so much inspiration, and thought of art in a different way than they originally did. However, no matter what each student took away from the trip, everyone agreed that really anything can be art, even if you don’t really think of it that way.