The 8th graders hit St. Louis on Wednesday to explore geometry through visits to the World Chess Hall of Fame for the M.C. Escher: Infinite Variations exhibit and the Cathedral Basilica to check out mosaics. Alex Mayer ’24 said, “The Cathedral Basilica was so beautiful, I couldn’t believe my eyes…the dedication to place every individual piece of glass is crazy.” Jada Greer ’24 agreed, “I thought that the mosaics in the Cathedral Basilica were so cool! There were so many different colors and patterns so that even if you’re not religious, they still fascinate you. There’s so much history in Saint Louis that I had no idea about until this trip, so I’m really grateful I was able to go.” The Class of 2024 also visited the Science Center to see Pompeii: The Exhibition and enjoyed a picnic lunch in Forest Park. Wyatt Dickherber ’24 said, “I enjoyed visiting the Pompeii exhibit at the St. Louis Science Center because I learned about a city that existed 2,000 years ago. I thought it was very interesting seeing people that were preserved from that long ago and knowing that those people lived in the time that we are studying in history.”
The 8th grade math classes have been using their compasses to create angles, polygons and art. They were inspired by M.C. Escher’s tessellations and will create their own works of art as a math project. Tessellations are shapes that fit perfectly together to form a pattern. The students learned on their field trip that tessellations are all around us in the form of quilts, architecture, brick walls, chess boards and even tiled bathroom floors, just to name a few examples. They will spend time creating their own tessellations over the next week.
