When Getty is “muy padre’’

Taking the six-hour bus ride from Tijuana, Mexico, to the Getty Center in the fall or winter is an eagerly anticipated treat for 180 students from the Instituto México de Baja California.

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Not only will they be in another country without their parents for 17 hours—5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.—they’ll learn all about the Getty Museum’s art collection.

“Getty es muy padre (Getty is very cool),” says student Gonzalo Jiménez. Carlos Aranda chimes in: “I can’t wait to come back! The first thing that I told my parents was that Getty gave us a complementary parking voucher, and we started planning our next visit. I never had the opportunity to go to an art museum before. I loved it.”

Aside from exploring the galleries, the students visit the Central Garden, take in panoramic views of LA, buy souvenirs at the store, lunch in the cafeteria, and along the way, fill out assignment booklets where they record details like an artwork’s colors or a subject’s pose. The students also sketch paintings; Paulus Potter’s The “Piebald” Horse is a favorite.

Their teacher and chaperone, Angélica Chavelas, was inspired to organize the trip eight years ago as part of her English as a Second Language (ESL) class at the Marist Catholic school. She had been deeply impressed by the Getty Center since visiting with her two children and wanted to share that experience, and her passion for art, with her students.

Since 2016 she’s led two trips a year to the Getty Center, each with 90 students and 10 teachers, who guide the academic work for the visit. In 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic, four groups participated in a 45-minute virtual tour offered by Getty’s Education Department to schools worldwide. The tour, led by docents, was designed to be interactive and engaging. “What they did was excellent,” says Chavelas. “The students found it delightful!”

A large part of the students’ enthusiasm during their in-person tour can be credited to Chavelas and the other teachers’ efforts to keep the 14- and 15-year-olds constantly engaged. Each student must complete the assignment booklet, which Chavelas designed using materials supplied by the Getty education team. (The materials are available online to all educators on Getty’s website.) As they move around the Center, the teachers also draw from their curricula back in Tijuana and their personal expertise.

“The trick is to make Getty an extension of the classroom,” Chavelas says. “None of us are art experts, but we use our knowledge.” In the garden the religion teacher leads the students in a spiritual meditation to help them relax. As the group moves between buildings, the PE teacher suggests breathing exercises to help the students concentrate, and they also keep track of, and report at the end of the day, the steps counted by their mobile devices.

Chavelas says she also lets the paintings serve as teachers. When she leads students to Claude Monet’s Wheatstacks, Snow Effect, and Morning, she asks them how they think the artist remembered where the shadow was on the wheatstacks. A student replies, “By memory, of course.” Chavelas then tells students that Monet returned to the wheatstack field at the same time every day to get the shadow just right. “Wow, no way!” a student gasps.

“I love their amazement, because they learn that with that kind of patience, dedication, and passion, they can achieve their own goals,” Chavelas says.

Some works make the students laugh, especially The Vexed Man, an 18th-century sculpture by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. The students take selfies with it, imitating the subject’s sour expression.

The students take more than selfies though. When they return to their school, Chavelas will ask them to present one of their photos to the class. The students will then applaud for each one, and the most popular shot is declared that trip’s winner.