On March 16, the Latin class went to the Yale Art Gallery in New Haven. The purpose of this field trip was to give more hands-on experience with Latin culture to the students that they would otherwise not receive. The Yale Art Gallery is diverse and contains many different artifacts and pieces of art that serve as an educational purpose to the Latin class. The field trip was planned by seniors Jonathan Olshefski and Alex Sowinski in an attempt to organize a fun and educational day visiting a museum. Sowinski and Olshefski also serve as the Latin Club co-presidents.

“At the Yale Art Gallery, we were looking at their classics collection, focusing on the culture of the Romans and mythology. In addition, we also got to see the numismatics collection not seen without appointment,” Sowinski said.

This class differs from other language classes that are offered in that the students do not necessarily learn how to speak the language. Rather, they solely have knowledge on how to read and write it as well as learn the derivatives so they can better understand other languages. This field trip provided an opportunity to have a more hands on and visual learning experience for the students who usually sit in their classroom every day and learn how to read Latin.

“It can be hard to stay engaged and understand the relevancy of material and events that occurred so long ago. Visiting the art gallery to look at the collections allowed for a great handson experience for all involved,” Latin teacher Drew Warchut said.

The class saw many art pieces at the art gallery that they had learned about in class, such as multiple different artifacts and simulations of Latin cities like Pompeii.

“They have some Roman artifacts and coins as part of their collection, and they’re having a special exhibition called Pompeii: Photographs and Fragments that just started. The gallery docents offer guided tours to groups,” Olshefski said.

The class hopes to incorporate their learning from this trip in future lessons and projects.