It's Adventure Time!

Oh New York, a concrete jungle where dreams are made of. And fortunately for the students of the West Contra Costa Unified School District, New York City is a destination we are given the chance to experience. As an ILC representative for the 2012 summer, I am given the opportunity to study and live in New York for approximately one month. I am able to study at a prestigious Ivy League university while enjoying the exciting city of New York.

While attending Columbia university for the summer, my ILC group will be provided with chances to tour beautiful New York City and the surrounding area. Possible famous landmarks I hope to visit are the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, World Trade Center, and FAO Schwarz Toys. Famous museums I hope to tour are the American Museum of Natural History, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Skyscraper Museum, and Discovery Times Square.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is a national monument on Ellis Island, known as a symbol of American immigration and the immigration experience. As a gift from France, the Statue of Liberty is a universal symbol for freedom and democracy.

Empire State Building

The Empire State Building is a one hundred and two story skyscraper that overlooks all of New York. With an observatory on the eighty-sixth floor, tourists are able to admire the breathtaking views of streets, rooftops, and metropolitan areas.

Central Park

Central Park, located in the center of Manhattan, is a public park that encompasses about eight hundred forty-six acres! With discussion seminars and research at the library occupying our time, Central Park is a great escape to the hectic workload ahead of us.

Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center, built by the infamous Rockefeller family, is a complex of nineteen buildings located between forty-eighth and fifty-first street. Tourists are able to walk upon the creation of some of the wealthiest Americans during the Gilded Age.

Ground Zero

After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, this complex, once consisted of the Twin Towers, is now named the Ground Zero Memorial.

FAO Schwarz

FAO Schwarz Toys is the oldest toy store in the United States. After a long day consisted of textbooks and papers, it’s good to explore one’s inner child at this New York attraction, especially on the candy floor!

American Museum of Natural History

The American Museum of Natural History is one of the largest and most well-known museums in the world. With forty-six exhibition halls and thirty-two million specimens, exploring this museum will never be a bored. (Maybe the displays will come to life too!)

Guggenheim Museum

Solomon Guggenheim Museum is a modern architectural building housing collections of Impressionist, post-Impressionist, early Modern, and Contemporary art.

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is exactly that; a modern art museum that is continuously developing and collecting modern art of architecture and design, drawings, sculptures, paintings, photographs, and many more.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of art holds works of many different cultures; from the medieval arms and armors in the Cloister section to a Ming Dynasty -style garden court.

Skyscraper Museum

The Skyscraper Museum is the only museum that holds works of different designs of skyscrapers. Personally, this is one I’d really like to visit due to the variety of architectural features presented at the museum. (My inner engineer is showing!)

Terracotta Warriors at the Discovery Times Square

Discovery Times Square is an exhibition that specializes in traveling exhibitions. The current exhibition is the Terracotta Warriors: Defenders of China’s First Emperor. This exhibition is China’s most famous archaeological discovery, comprised of six hundred clay soldiers to protect the Emperor in the afterlife.