Each year, AP Science students have the opportunity to travel to Chicago with their class. The three day trip is packed with museum visits, sight-seeing, and freedom to explore the city. My friends and I had the opportunity to make the trip this year. 

On our last day in the city- after the obligatory group photo, of course- the Field Museum of Natural History was first on the agenda. My group easily spent over five hours in the museum, but I’m convinced it would take days to truly take in everything. 

When we first got to the Art Institute, the massive four-floor building that houses nearly 300,000 works was overwhelming to say the least. 

Despite its labyrinthian layout, the Art Institute quickly became one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was amazing to see so many famous works up close and in person. Later that evening, a group of about ten of us got dressed up in the nicest clothes we had thought to pack and ate downtown at a restaurant far fancier than what we were used to. 

After days of confusion, we had finally managed to make some sense of the bus schedule and were able to take one to the restaurant. I was especially relieved by this after seeing two of our group members frantically joining us late at the table. They told us between breaths that they had just run three miles in the rain to get there. But it was all worth it, because the food was incredible. 

The whole table was in love with the truffle fries we split as an appetizer. I was happy to find that my pasta tasted as good as it looked. Everyone could agree dinner was a success, right up until we were handed the $400 bill. After a lot of stress and long deliberation, we finally scrounged up enough to pay the bill, tip the server, and we were on our way.

For our last couple hours before our curfew to get back to the hotel, we walked a couple blocks from the restaurant to visit The Bean. I’m not sure what is so fascinating about a giant metal bean in the middle of the city, but it’s probably my favorite of Chicago’s attractions, and it was a great way to wrap up the trip. The Chicago trip was really an amazing experience and I’m so glad this opportunity is available to AP Science students.