Recently, a STEM trip was organised for current Year 12 pupils by the science department in CGS to New York. The aim of the trip was to visit some educational
sites, both for science and general education, to facilitate the pupils’ learning as well as inspire them in an incredibly diverse and historic city.
Day 1 – Wednesday 1st November 2017
After an early start to Dublin airport and a 7-hour Flight to J.F. Kennedy International Airport, Pupils and Staff get ready to step onto American soil.
Mrs Reid, Dr. Frizelle and Mr Gault are ready for the adventure to begin.
our 4 night’s stay. We were very fortunate to be in such a central area of the city- with everyone wholeheartedly agreeing that ‘it’s fun to stay at the
YMCA’
Our evening meal was organised at a Pizzeria nearby. Despite the mammoth size of the pizzas, every slice was eaten.
After dinner, we decided to walk the streets of the city visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral, viewed the Chrysler Building and walked through Times Square.
Day 2 – Thursday 2nd November 2017
To save our feet a few miles of walking to the Bronx Zoo, the staff decided to take the pupils by subway from the iconic Grand Central Station.The
staff and pupils safely managed to enter and exit the busy carriages at the correct stops.No mean feat on this chaotic mode of transport!
Bronx Zoo is home to more than 6,000 animals, spanning 265 acres that re-create the diverse natural habitats of its numerous residents.
After our morning in the zoo, we took the subway back to the city for lunch and enjoyed a walk through Central Park.
The afternoon was spent in the American Museum of Natural History. The museum holds 42 permanent exhibits and several temporary ones covering
millions of years of the earth’s evolution, from the birth of the planet through to present day.
Following our blast to the past in the museum we had a 45-minute speed-walk back to Times Square for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. The food
itself was typically American as well as the huge American portion sizes.We needed the energy, as by this stage we had walked…34,000 steps!
Just down the street from Hard Rock was the theatre for our Broadway Show– School of Rock. The pupils enjoyed the slapstick comedy as
well as the live music from such young, talented actors.
Day 3 – Friday 3rd November 2017
After breakfast, we walked downtown to the National September 11 Memorial Museum which tells the story of the events of 9/11. The museum
held stories and artefacts that range in scale from the monumental to the intimate, as well as through first-person accounts and multimedia displays.
The 9/11 Memorial outside the museum is a place of remembrance, honouring those killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
and February 26, 1993. The names of 2,983 victims of the attacks at the World Trade Centre site, at the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93, as well as
the World Trade Centre in 1993, are inscribed in bronze panels surrounding two enormous reflecting pools set in the footprints of the Twin Towers.
In the afternoon, we made our way to New Jersey by ferry to the Liberty Science Centre. The journey over was relatively short and gave
us an amazing view of downtown Manhattan’s skyline.
The Liberty Science Centre is located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson River. The centre gave the pupils a chance to interact
in different exhibits and discover how the world around us works.
After our visit to the science centre we travelled back to times square for our evening meal at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
The restaurant is themed on the famous movie Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks. The pupils were given a chance to interact in a trivia quiz related to the
movie which added to the experience.
We also got to visit some sites nearby such as Trump tower and United Nations headquarters.
Day 4 – Saturday 4th November 2017
Our penultimate day started at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum where we got to explore the history of drone technology, from the
earliest unmanned flying machines to advanced systems of the 21st century. A variety of drones, historical artefacts, model airplanes and rare videos
are on display.
The second half of the day was spent on the Empire State Building Observation Deck.For the better part of a century, visitors to the New
York have headed straight to the Empire State Building for the thrill of a lifetime: the journey aloft to its fabled Observatory nearly a quarter of
a mile above Fifth Avenue. Here we were exposed to breath-taking panoramas across the rooftops, avenues and byways of the New York Metropolitan areas,
to as far away as four neighbouring states.
We also got to do some last-minute shopping in the Macy’s flagship store – one of the biggest department stores in the world. Macy’s also
still has its original wooden escalators functioning today – a wonder itself.Our final dinner was close by in Café R, an all-you-can-eat
buffet.
Day 5 – Sunday 5th November 2017
Our final day started with a Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island Immigration Museum. We all got a handheld
audio device to aid the information at the exhibits.
‘I’ll be there for you’.Year 12 auditioning for the opening scenes of the iconic television series ‘Friends’.Here they are pictured by the fountain.
We finally walked back to the YMCA to get our luggage before making our way back to JFK for our journey home.
The teachers involved would like to thank all of the pupils on this trip.Their inquisitive, enthusiastic and mature behaviour made this one of the most
enjoyable extra-curricular school experiences; with several members of the general public commenting on their excellent behaviour.
It was a pleasure to take this group of pupils to one of the world’s busiest cities. We hope the science department will be able to provide the pupils
of CGS with similar trips to open their eyes to the world around them in the near future.
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