On Thursday, October 13, Middle School students took part in an interdisciplinary, collaborative field trip designed by teachers Jane Lucia (science) and Natania Hume (art). The trip took advantage of the wonderful resources at nearby Smith College in order to touch on the disciplines of art, science, English, and geography.

See the full gallery of photos on Flickr.

The trip began with a guided tour of the Lyman Plant House, which is a series of greenhouses containing plants from many regions and climates all over the world. In the plant house, students were given time to observe a plant of interest to them, making notes and using as many descriptive adjectives as possible. They later exchanged papers and made drawings according to each other’s descriptions.

The tour continued outdoors, across campus, highlighting the variety of interesting trees on this campus that is itself an arboretum. Arriving at the Smith College Museum of Art, the students viewed the museum’s collection and were encouraged to engage in visual thinking strategies as well as a hands-on art experience. In all of these venues, students used their observation skills to extract understanding from nature and from art, creating connections they will carry forward throughout their studies for the rest of the year.