Twists, turns, caves of wonder, and new things in every corner, The St. Louis City Museum has it all. Hundreds of thousands of children visit the establishment every year, and for their Third quarter HOWL incentive, the students of HHS joined in the fun.
“We never went to the City Museum. Like, for 3 years, it’s always been to the zoo or the mall. And I’ve been begging to go to the City Museum, because I really want to go do something different,” senior Anishica Brady said.
Founded in 1997, The City Museum has entertained students for 29 years now. Known for its multistory slides, interactive architecture, sea life and animals, visitors stay entertained for hours. Coming to the City Museum gave the high schoolers a chance to let loose and have fun for the day.
“I got to hang out with my friends and leave school for the day,” junior Salina Wilson said.
“At the City Museum, first me and my friends we just walked around for a bit and then, we went to the caves and we got kind of lost there, but then after that we went up the caves and then we went down the slide,” Freshman Yasin Rahimi said.
Housed in a 600,000 square foot building, the City Museum property was formerly an international shoe company and began construction in 1996. Some famous attractions found in the museum are the Enchanted caves that travel through the center of the museum, the giant Beluga whale towards the entrance, and their “skateless park” which is a collection of skateboard ramps guests can slide and climb on. The City Museum has countless activities to see and do giving people something new to see every visit.
“My favorite memory had to be this one cave and it was very closed off, you can get claustrophobia when you’re in there and also going up the outside in the plane,” said Brady.
For some students this trip was very special because it is their Senior year at HHS.
“Well for one, we never went to the City Museum. For 3 years, It’s always been to the zoo or the mall,” Brady said. “And him definitely choosing to go to the City Museum, my senior year, really made an impact.”
This trip though was also extra special because it was earned. At HHS students receive what is called a HOWL score which stands for: Habits Of Work and Learning. This score is measured from 1-4. To keep their score up, students must give their best effort in class everyday by completing homework assignments and following the school rules and regulations. This means that the students who participated in this trip, truly earned it. The students got to go to the City Museum for free.
“Our incentive trips help us to create this culture where you guys push yourselves forward as individuals and our student body pushes itself forward as a collective academically, behaviorally, and in terms of school identity and culture,” Assistant principal Elijah Phillips said.
Rewarding students keeps their spirits high especially with AP and state testing right around the corner. This way students will give the best effort they can and continue to meet goals and expectations.
“I think students reach whatever bar that you set for them if you give them the proper support,” Phillips said. “When you give them the reason to, you know, believe in why it’s worthwhile.”
