The LHS Junior class took their field trip all the way in New York City on Oct 30 where students went to the American Museum of Natural History, which had all sorts of exhibits, ranging from ocean life to old tribes to dinosaur fossils. Apart from its many artifacts and shows, the museum had many gift shops that corresponded with the exhibit it was located near, so if students wanted a stuffed penguin or a planetarium souvenir, they knew where to find it. Though it was at an exciting location, the field trip held many pros and cons for the students who decided to go.

Pros

The Museum of Natural History was located in beautiful New York City. What more could students from Ludlow want? The bus trip lasted about two hours going there and a little more than two coming back because they stopped at a rest stop.

The Imax movie about penguins and their daily lives was entertaining and educational. Students favorite part of the movie? “The pooping penguin,” Daniel Gil said lightheartedly.

Inside the huge museum, above the earth science and planet exhibit that’s held right when you walk in, up a clear elevator that brings you to a dark room, is the class favorite, the Planetarium. It’s a big, circular room, with seats also lined in a circle, but tilted to simulate lying down. The lights go off and the whole ceiling is transformed into the sky, and students are transported into the galaxy while listening to Whoopi Goldberg narrate the educational adventure.

“The Planetarium was so cool because you just laid there and you looked up to the sky,” Jacqueline Dias said enthusiastically.

Cons

Sadly, the beautiful city was locked up from the students. They could not exit the museum, so after roughly two hours in a bus, the students got to briefly get some air while walking into the museum, but stayed there until it was time to leave.

The museum was so huge, and time was restricted, so not everything inside was visited by the class. However getting lost and going in circles was an easy thing to accomplish inside.

It was a very crowded place. There were children everywhere from other school trips and tourists taking a visit. It was overall crowded and loud.

The worst part of all, by far, from hearing students, is the food court inside the museum. No, they did not have Starbucks or McDonald’s or any other typical food stand found in NYC, but they did have their very own. They had a selection varying from T-Rex burgers (which were gross), to chips, cookies, and salads. They also had chicken fingers, which were, when broken apart, shockingly light pink inside. What takes the cake, however, is that a meal of these sickening chicken fingers, french fries, and a bottle of iced tea, cost $18. Yup, $18. The meal was the same as the chicken selects meal at McDonalds, but even worse. Someone had this same meal, but added a slice of their boring pizza, and made their total $21. There went money for the gift shop.

When asked what they least liked about the field trip, the comment that always came out first was about the food.

Madellin Quiterio sums up everyones opinion on how awful it was: “My least favorite part was the food. It was nasty,” she said.

This field trip was a bitter upset for the class, but on the bright side, the bus rides were very entertaining. Once the bus took off, especially when going home, it got loud, and it was fun. The museum might not have been as good as the Boston one last year, but we still got the chance to leave the school, the town, and the state for a day with all of our friends.