An inside look at the APES Field Trip to MSI

The AP Environmental Science (APES) class, a popular science course for seniors at Conant, went on their third field trip of the year, this time to the Illinois Museum of Science and Industry, to explore the new Blue Paradox exhibit, an immersive experience about global plastic pollution. The Advanced Physics classes also went along to check out the Numbers in Nature exhibit about patterns and math in the world around us.

Crier reporter, Leyla Yurtsever, ‘25, went on this field trip with APES teacher Jennifer Stanish. Here is a behind-the-scenes look.

Join me on our field trip to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry! 

We started off the day in the atrium, waiting for our bus to arrive as Stanish walked us through the day ahead. We were to be split class by class for designated times for the Blue Paradox and Numbers in Nature exhibits, but we had the rest of the day to wander around with our friends. 

Around 8:30 a.m., our bus arrived, and we embarked on an hour-long road trip through rush-hour highway traffic toward downtown Chicago. My friends and I passed the time quickly with conversation, although I repeatedly checked Google Maps to see how much more time we had until we arrived.

Once we hopped off the bus and walked into the museum, we were immediately greeted by a Stan’s Donuts. They definitely made a lot of money off of Conant students that day because we all piled in and bought donuts and coffee! It was worth it though, as my cold brew was delicious.

Anum Saif | Conant Crier

Anum Saif | Conant CrierMe and Anum Saif, ’25, arriving at the museum!

As a trio, Kiah Shah, ’25, Anum Saif, ’25, and I walked through the Black Creativity Juried Art Exhibition, the Henry Crown Space Center, the U-505 Submarine, Yesterday’s Main Street, and more. All of the exhibits were so much fun to explore; we viewed art, spacecrafts, the U-505, and walked through a “time capsule” of a street. We also got to manipulate tornadoes at the Science Storms Exhibit. 

Once 11:30 a.m. rolled around, it was time for us to make our way to the Blue Paradox exhibit. Before we went in, all I knew was that it was going to be about plastic pollution. 

However, after walking through a hallway of images of plastic pollution around the world, we were greeted by a lady standing in a room completely full of screens. She started rapping (yes, rhyming on a beat!), directing us to be respectful of the space and people around us. It was actually really entertaining! But then she stepped aside and the real show began as all of the screens lit up with beautiful, ultra-HD imagery of oceans, wildlife, and forests. The next three minutes were a visual masterpiece, or, as Stanish called it, “eye candy.”

 

After the immersive video experience, we were led into a room with a hallway of conveyor belts of everyday plastic products (detergents, shaving cream, shampoo, you name it!). Most of them were white, but some of them were colored orange, which I later found out represented the large proportions of our everyday products that end up in landfills or the ocean.

We walked past this hallway into another blue room. There, I did a little reading about plastic pollution on stands and the walls. I also signed a pledge to be more mindful of my plastic consumption and waste, and my name appeared on a wall of other pledgees. 

Also in this room, I had the opportunity to find out my “plastic footprint,” a measure of how much plastic waste I produce. I was proud to find out I am slightly below the US average, but the number was still so large that I could definitely do a lot better in conserving resources. Honestly, it was shocking to me that 231.9 pounds of plastic per year was below the average in the US!

By the time I finished taking that mini quiz, my class was leaving the Blue Paradox experience to make it in time to the Numbers in Nature exhibit, so I had to rush out. Overall, I really loved the Blue Paradox; it was jam-packed with activities and info-cards, and the immersive video was captivating and gorgeous. 

I also enjoyed the Numbers in Nature exhibit, although not as much. The most fun part of it came first, as we went through a very confusing mirror maze. It wasn’t too hard to get through since we were a large group, but I imagine it’d be pretty difficult if I were alone (and if the mirrors were cleaned so I couldn’t rely on the fingerprints left behind by previous adventurers to figure out what was a reflection and what was real). Honestly, it got kind of disorienting seeing my reflection for so long, so I tried not to make eye contact with myself. 

After we safely made it out of the maze, we were greeted by a green room full of activities and examples of patterns and numbers in nature. The images drew my attention to patterns I hadn’t noticed before, like the Fibonacci spiral in sunflowers. There were also 3D images on screens that you could manipulate with your hands in the air, which were fun to play around with.

One of the most attractive activities in the room, however, was a mirror that measured your body proportions. My entire class lined up to figure out their height and proportions one-by-one. And that was it for the Numbers in Nature exhibit! At this point, it was around 1 p.m., and our bus was set to arrive soon to make it back to school in time for 8th period, so we made our way over to the exit as a class. As we waited for our bus to arrive, Saif and I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a photo booth. At least the photos turned out cute!

 

After about 15 minutes of waiting, we finally boarded our buses and started our trip back to school. Thankfully, there wasn’t as much traffic this time, and we made it back to school in about 45 minutes. We got back before 7th hour ended, so we got to sit in the atrium until the bell rang. Then, we all made our ways to our 8th hour classes and finished off our days.

Overall, I really enjoyed this field trip! We had a lot of freedom to explore with our friends in the beginning, and the exhibits, especially the Blue Paradox, were very interesting and fun to go through. Even if you don’t plan to take APES, I’d recommend taking a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry with family or friends just for fun!

Thank you for coming along with me on this day!