On November 2, Mr. Higgins’ Anthropology and Mr. Hrynyk’s AP Psychology students ventured to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City to see the Bodies exhibit.
Both classes follow curricula that focus on the structures of the human body and their respective functions; this exhibition provided a physical element with displays of real, once-living organs and full bodies.
As one student, Caitlin Nolan, said, “I was really freaked out because all of the bodies were real and I wish my body didn’t look like that on the inside.”
In an increasingly standardized academic environment, students throughout the school frequently find themselves growing restless sitting in confined classrooms for 90 minutes at a time. Therefore, Higgins and Hrynyk thought it ideal to take this opportunity to travel outside of Morris Knolls and provide their students with another approach to learning the material. Bodies is a traveling exhibition that moves temporarily from one location to another. From the evolution of the Homo sapien to the parts of the brain, both Anthropology and AP Psychology topics are covered in extensive detail.
At the Liberty Science Center, the students entered the Bodies exhibit as the first part of their day. They walked through the dimly lit corridors and examined the different human structures that were presented. With the extensive amount of time that remained in their day there, they were then free to roam around the complex and explore the different hands-on exhibits.
AP Psychology student Romina Dichio thoroughly enjoyed the wide variety of exhibits that were available, commenting, “It was a fun and interesting trip, and I learned about a lot more than I would.”
As fun and recreational this trip seems to have been, there is no doubting the educational content of the Bodies exhibit. It is extremely rare for a high school student to be able to see the information and diagrams in their textbooks come to life. Amanda Goldy, another student who attended the field trip, affirmed the value that it had to the curriculum. She said, “It was really cool to see what we can’t see inside our bodies and to learn how it works.”
The internal structures of the human body came to life on this trip. Students received an uncommon view of the parts of themselves that we have always been taught are not meant to be seen. In glass cases and bizarre poses, the Bodies told a different story and expanded the classroom far beyond a simple printed picture.
In past years, the field trip to the Bodies exhibit has not always been possible for Mr. Higgins and Mr. Hrynyk. Because of the temporary, traveling nature of the exhibition, there is never a certainty that it will return to the Liberty Science Center at a practical time of year for the Anthropology or AP Psychology classes. The teachers devote extensive time and effort each year to researching how to make this opportunity available to their students.
Upon seeing the success of this trip with this year’s class of students, it will likely be of popular demand by those who take the classes next year.