Exhibitions of Learning

Students Put Learning on Display through Interactive Presentations

Ninth Graders Explore Changing Identities of Global Cities

On the evening of Dec. 9, ninth graders transformed the Upper School into 30 cities around the world. The ninth-grade Exhibition of Learning was a collaborative project in which students were asked to explore, analyze, and explain the identity of a global city. This was no easy task, as students have wrestled with a myriad of different topics ranging from the history of a city to its culture and/or cultural heritage, asking questions such as what are a city’s defining economic characteristics, and how do a place’s natural resources affect its political system? Using skills acquired in their core classes, and weaving in connections to their world languages, arts, and elective courses, the ninth graders set their aim on answering the essential question: How can we come to understand the identity of a global community?

All students created a brief history of their assigned city in the form of an infographic and wrote a children’s book about it with a partner. Students were asked to study one particular aspect of their city, which they would present at the exhibition. Georgina Wolfson researched how whales help climate change in Reykjavik, Iceland; Reminy D’Albert explored the history of music and art of Prague, the Czech Republic, and made connections to the present day music scene; Harrison Servedio examined the carbon footprint of Jakarta, Indonesia, the causes and mitigation efforts. As visitors passed in and out of the “cities,” their passports, which were handed out at the beginning of the evening, were stamped with a passport design created by the groups in the Maker Lab.

“We were all so knowledgeable and passionate about our subjects that it was easy to talk in depth to our parents,” said Georgina.