Good Morning at the Getty

Middle school is to elementary school as the Army is to the Cub Scouts.

Where I used to walk my daughter each day right to her classroom, now I MUST drop her off. I don't even have the option. Where I used to be asked weekly for help in the class, now it is made very clear that my presence isn't needed. So when Megan asked last week if I might be available to go along with them on their first field trip of the year, I didn't hesistate. Of course I did.

It didn't hurt that today's field trip was to SoCal's fabulous Getty Center.

"What do you mean, you've never been there before?" my daughter asked incredulously. "Didn't you ever go when you were a kid?"

Well, no. As hard as it is to believe, the Getty didn't open until 1997, when Megan was one year old. So it didn't exist when I was young. But that ten years has flown by, and I'm a little sheepish over the fact that I've taken her to the Louvre and the galleries inside Buckingham Palace, but not to this world-class art museum located just 15 miles away from our home.

Megan instructed me to report to her homeroom teacher at the beginning of the school day. There were two other moms from our class, and we were soon joined by an equal number of parents of kids in the other three 6th grade classes at the magnet.

Each class was divided into two groups. "Don't worry, you've got the easy ones," Megan's teacher assured me. I was happy to see to find Megan listed in my group. But then I glanced at the other thirteen names on the list and realized that I didn't know ANY of them. This was going to be a little bit harder than those elementary school trips where I'd known every child in the class since kindergarten.

Fortunately, the group WAS easy; as nice a bunch of 11- and 12-year-olds you'd want to meet. Several expressed an interest in the origin of the center and the man who gave it his name. "Where did he sleep?" one of the girls asked as we entered the North Wing. I had to explain that the Malibu branch of the museum had been J. Paul Getty's home; this center was built after he died.

The four teachers had done some reconnaissance at the Center over the weekend. "There are some collections that some parents might have probems with," the one who teaches art sighed. He may have been referring to this exhibit, which we managed to skip.

They created a Scavenger Hunt for the kids in the six galleries we visited this morning. The kids were each given a list of questions that could only be answered by paying attention to the art work and the explanatory plaques displayed beside each piece.

Unfortunately, the bus trip to the Getty took longer than planned ("Why did the bus driver take the 405 this time of morning?" lamented one of the other parents. No one knew).  We only had seven minutes to spend in each of the galleries, which didn't give any of the students time to linger and really look at the paintings, sculptures and other artifacts we viewed today.

I definitely want to return and tour the place for real; it is large enough that you could easily spend the better part of a day there. The sprawling, beautifully landscaped gardens are also a perfect place for families, even those with young children (and the museum offers several kid-friendly brochures that will keep the whole family interested in learning more).

I'm not about to wait another ten years.

Comments

[Karoli]

I love the Getty...and I haven't been there in forever. I'm not sure going with middle schoolers is my cup of tea, though.

Interestingly, BD used the same reasoning to help Sticks get the drums moved last night -- when they reach out, you grab it, even if you don't especially want to be doing that particular thing (the last part he added when I suggested that we could be having drinks and dinner if he'd have gotten us out of there quicker...)