On Wednesday, July 17th WHSAD students in the Summer Bridge Program spent a day at the Park Avenue Armory. Initially, it was not known what to expect, but at the end of the day, it became clear that whatever expectations anyone had were not only fulfilled but surpassed tenfold. The experience at the Armory was nothing short of surreal from the second we walked through the door. The experience hits you like a shock-wave as the ambiance in the foyer was grander than life, and, subsequently, the entrance tells the history of the building and its previous occupants. Before any official tour and or meeting took place, peers muttered among themselves, awed by the sheer scale and beauty of the interior. From that moment on the Armory never failed to surprise us and keep us hooked at every minute. Whether it be group activities or watching Drill, every student remained engaged by all the Armory had to offer.
Below, students who visited the Armory speak of the experience they had throughout the day.
Ariana Lowery: “The Armory was everything I expected and more. Although I am now a senior, I’ve never had the pleasure of being able to come to the Armory till now. After the trip I was left wondering why I didn’t go sooner! The minute we stepped into the building it was like we stepped into another world. From that moment on I was hooked, and every passing minute I learned something or saw something new. It was an amazing experience and for anyone who has the chance to visit, please do, you will not regret it.”
Jared Jackson: “The experience at the armory was very poetic in the sense that everything we [the students] experienced was immense and thought-provoking. Despite being thought-provoking, not much strenuous thinking had to be done. This can be best explained when the students were doing a group activity about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s Allegory is simply put about a civilization that lives in cave and spends all day fantasizing over the shadows. When one of the cave people escapes into the outside world and sees the light, he realizes that there is more to life than the cave and its shadows. Despite this experience, when he goes back to the cave, no one believes him. After understanding the basis of the Allegory, the students were then asked to relate the themes of the allegory to modern day situations, and it was almost as if without thought everyone could come up with scenarios.”
Angie Navarro: “My trip to the Armory was beautiful. I had done some research before the trip to see where it was that we were going. But the photos do not do the Armory justice. With every corner we turned and every room we walked into each student was stunned. This was very true when the students were exploring the exhibits on the first floor. Each room was an entirely new experience yet managed to relate back to what it was that we did in our group activity about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.”
