On a sunny day in the middle of the Presidio, Advanced Placement Art History students studied Spire, a 90-foot sculpture by Scottish land artist Andy Goldsworthy.

With the Senior Class gone on retreats, history teacher Sarah Garlinghouse wanted her junior students to go on an excursion of their own.

“It’s really amazing getting to experience art in a first-hand personal point of view,” Stuart Hall  junior Leon Tsai said. “It gets us all pumped up for what’s to come for the rest of the year.”

AP Art History students did a brief unit on Goldsworthy, and got the opportunity to see some of his pieces in person.

“Looking at it in a textbook isn’t the same as having a personal connection with it,” junior Ana Paula Louie-Grover said.

Garlinghouse expects more field trips will be taken in the coming months due to the new Collaboration Lab, a block period where students are able to have club meetings, conduct independent study or participate in additional activities for their current classes.

Using this time to experience art from the curriculum directly can have more impact than seeing it on a television screen in a classroom, according to Bella Kearney.

“For land art specifically, you are outside in the actual environment and you can formulate more questions,” junior Bella Kearney said. “You can be a lot more curious when you’re having your own emotional connection with it.”