The week of Oct. 23 marked the first module week of the year for freshmen, sophomores and juniors of the NYC Museum School. After rotating through five modules for each of the past two years, the class of 2025 is now rotating through four courses: Activism in U.S. History, Coding, Journalism and Spectroscopy; the last two being brand new to the Museum School community.
The Spectroscopy module teaches students the study of light, how it affects matter, and the concept of natural dyes. The module contains two off-campus trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History.
The course is co-taught by 11th grade Chemistry teachers Ms. Gogiya and Ms. Rathgeb, as well as Assistant Principal Vicente Viteri who designed this new module “to align with concepts learned in 11th grade Chemistry,” according to Ms. Rathgeb. Mr. Viteri said, “before I worked as a teacher, I worked as a chemist, and that means I have a lot of experience.”
In addition to the classroom, the students also had hands-on experience with natural dyes in the fourth floor laboratory, in which they used natural materials to make their own dyes. Junior Jack Robles said that the students were “introduced to the concept of natural dyes, and conservationists at the Met” furthered this study.
Aside from having fun with hands-on activities in the lab, junior Haylen Jimenez said her favorite part of the module was that “we did not get homework and we got breaks in between periods.”
The Spectroscopy is the first module featuring an all-day trip and the only module to include a member of the administration co-teaching the course, so students took some time settling into the unfamiliar structure.
Junior Zoe Lowe said, “The module itself was a fun experience. The trips were fun and the teachers were really nice, but going to the Natural History Museum all day was uncalled for.”
Junior Jaydan Valerio said, “Ms. Gogiya is really nice. All three of the teachers were good at explaining the work and made sure the students understood the assignments. The trip to the planetarium was fun and the butterfly exhibit was nice.”
Ms. Rathgeb also stated that she “had a good first experience rolling out the new Spectroscopy module,” which let her see things in a “new light.”
Despite not having taken the module yet, junior Si Qi Li said how she’s “definitely looking forward to it. I have no idea what it’s about, but it seems like fun.”
