Sophomore Lindsey McCumber rushed through the famous Metropolitan Museum of Art, racing from gallery to gallery, striving to find just one last piece of art her group needed for an artistic scavenger hunt.  Panting from exhaustion, she triumphantly handed her completed list to art teacher Bruno Baran.

Exploring the city’s art museums, sketching their own drawings, and shopping were only a few activities The Art Honor Society members experienced on their annual trip to New York City November 11 and 12.

One of the museums that McCumber was able to explore was the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where students in the NAHS went on a scavenger hunt for famous works of art. “The scavenger hunt was exhausting,” McCumber said. “The Met is such a vast and diverse museum…[with] so many components.”

The National Art Honor Society toured the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, better known as the MoMA, but also had free time to shop and explore the streets of New York. The students were also able to go to the Whitney Museum, some of the Chelsea Galleries, and sketch their favorite pieces that they had seen throughout the day.

Art teacher Bruno Baran, who orchestrated the trip, was glad that the group had two days, but wished it could have been even longer. “I’d want three days. We could come home on Sunday,” Baran said. “We could spend a full day in the Chelsea Galleries. There are 400 of them.” The Chelsea Galleries feature works from modern artists and are still growing.

“I’d never gone to an Art museum before. I thought it’d be fun. Plus, I’ve only stayed overnight in New York two times before this trip,” McCumber said. The MoMA was one of McCumber’s favorite museums. Her favorite exhibit in that museum was “the rooms full of Picasso” because he was a modern painter.

When junior Morgan Jones heard about the trip, “[She] was really excited because [she] love[s] the Greek art work along with the Asian arts.” Jones also thought it would be a memorable experience, and she wanted to be more involved with the Art Honor Society than just doing projects.

Junior Katlyn Cyphers, who went on the day trip last year, enjoyed the trip much more this year because they got to stay overnight in NYC. “It was better. We got to go shopping, and we went to one more museum which was nice too.  We had a lot more time to tour the museums when we were there,” Cyphers said.

Junior Adriana Baker also enjoyed the trip more than her experience last year because of the extra day NAHS spent in the city. “I think this year the amount of time in the museums we had was a lot better because we had two days, so it didn’t feel as rushed to get through the exhibits.”

The next day, McCumber and other students “had free time again on 5th Avenue and Rockefeller, where [the] group[s] went shopping and sightseeing and then out to dinner.” Students left for home around 8 p.m. and got home at 11:15 p.m.

McCumber was thrilled with the outcome of the trip. “I love New York City and I wanted to go [because] everything about it is beautiful,” McCumber said.

Ashley Beyer is a Lifestyles editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.