All the Dobbs Ferry 6th graders filed into yellow school buses, excited for their up-coming trip. The middle school children were heading off to their first field trip of the year- the Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China’s First Emperor exhibit, located in theDiscoveryTimes SquareExhibitionCenter.
The sixth graders had recently been educated aboutChina,Rome, andIndia. Throughout the China Unit and research project of civilizations, many students studied the terracotta warriors in some way. The terracotta statues are figures that depict Qin Shi Huang, the first Chinese emperor. These sculptures were discovered when farmers started digging a hole to build a well, until they found over 8,000 stone warriors!
The exhibit contained a variety of artifacts; an assortment of weapons, animals, Chinese currency, and of course, genuine terracotta soldiers directly fromChina! With the warriors and life-size animals up close there was little to forget! No two soldiers looked alike. Like a snowflake, they had their own special properties. Many of my fellow students agreed with this.
“(The terracotta soldier exhibit) was a really nice learning experience… And all the pottery was really cool. It (The exhibit) was really interesting, because I have read a lot of books about the terracotta soldiers in class,” explained sixth grader Soo Yun Byeon. Many other students agree with this, although some were challenged by the scavenger hunt provided by the sixth grade team. “It was a lot more annoying, because we had to answer questions.” stated Laura Denobrega, another 6th grader at the middle school. Nevertheless, countless schoolchildren were astonished that the history presented to them was real… not just a text in a workbook.
The students were not the only ones with an opinion on the excursion. Ms. Jennifer Hickey, one of the two sixth grade social studies teachers atDobbsFerryMiddle School, stated that people stopped to comment on how excited and interested the kids were. Ms. Hickey also noted, “Almost everyone saw something they studied. At the museum there were ancient Chinese weapons, currency, and many other artifacts that were studied. Whether you were studying currency, economics, weaponry, or of course the terracotta soldiers themselves, you saw real artifacts of your topics.”
Ms. Hickey and fellow social studies teacher Ms. Melissa Gretczko put a great deal of thought into this trip. It started when the PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) informed the sixth grade teachers that they had a set amount of money to spend for a cultural field trip. The two history teachers decided it was time to treat the hardworking students to a treat, with an educational trip. Ms. Jennifer Hickey acknowledged that it was hard to find something that tied into the sixth grade social studies curriculum, yet also something interesting for 6th graders. When Ms. Hickey’s teacher-friend informed her of the Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China’s First Emperor exhibit, she jumped at the chance of a fascinating excursion.
All in all, Ms. Hickey was really pleased. “It was more than I expected! I went down there before we took the whole grade and I spent over three hours just looking at the ancient works of art!” It was all and more than anyone could have expected.
The terracotta soldiers and antique pieces really did make a difference in the learning of all students. When you can experience real, hands-on learning your education becomes richer. From seeing pictures in books or reading paragraphs from textbooks, to seeing the real historical objects and remains you go from 2d to 3d. The difference from your imagination to real life is astonishing.
The outing was educational, hands-on, interesting, and added another dimension to those dusty, old textbooks.