The classroom comes alive: students explore history at Autry Museum

By Ernesto H. and Angel C.

As the school bus pulled up to the towering Autry Museum of the American West, the students could feel their excitement building. Little did they know, this field trip would take them on a journey through time, art, and science, revealing a world they never knew existed.

Students from Ms. Lopez’s Native American Studies express their thoughts about the museum and what they liked about it.

“What I really appreciated about the museum is that it really told an equitable perspective of the American West,” said Ms. Lopez a U.S. History, Mexican American studies and Native American studies teacher. “Oftentimes, when we talk about the American West, they often talk about it in like a colonial white settler perspective where they usually leave out the stories of Native Americans, Mexicans, African-Americans and Asian Americans.”

Student Joel G. said the reason he liked the museum was that “they taught the truth about what things happened to Native Americans, so they didn’t try to hide the truth like most of U.S. history does, but they told us what happened and dug deep into it.” He also liked the museum’s tour guide.

Meanwhile, Diego H. said he liked the area that displayed the weapons used throughout history and the paintings. He also said, “I didn’t know about the area where they show you the wagons where they used to cook the beans in the cans, so that was pretty cool.”

It was clear that many students at the Autry Museum enjoyed the tour. For more information about the museum just in case you want to visit it with anyone or your family. Click the link below: https://theautry.org/