Susan Michalski’s AP French class took a field trip Friday to the exposition of Harvard University’s “Charlie Archive” at the French Cultural Center in Boston. Students spent the day immersed entirely in French.

The exposition contained 50+ framed artworks inspired by the January 2015 attacks of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper office in Paris. In addition, there was a collection of iPads each filled with thousands of digital images of “Je suis Charlie” tributes of all kind, from social media to poetry to street art from around the world. Historians, French and American, spoke on video of the larger importance of the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

The AP French students, currently studying global issues—or, in French, “Défis Mondiaux”—as part of the AP Curriculum, have been most recently delving into the issues freedom of press and expression. As a culmination of their work, each student will prepare a 5- to 10-minute presentation of the exposition image which is most pertinent to her in today’s world, touching upon the political climates in both the U.S. and France.

Following the exposition, the immersion continued at the restaurant Menton, Boston, where the class enjoyed a learning lunch, kitchen-side, at the restaurant’s “table de chef,” complete with a French speaking host.