Third grade students from Burton Street Elementary School recently participated in a field trip to Stone Quarry Hill Art Park.  The outing, which featured the tapping of the Park’s maple trees, was the result of the collaborative efforts of the Art Park’s staff and the school’s art and music teachers.

Wearing their winter gear, students had the opportunity to explore some of the Park’s most memorable sculptures and to participate in a “Sound Walk” with artist-in-residence, Edward Ruchalski. With Ruchalski’s guidance, students were actively engaged in listening for the “music” in the park; the dripping of sap into buckets, the crunch of snow, the wind in the trees, the snap of twigs, the songs of birds and more.

The boiling of the maple sap, which was also in progress during the field trip, allowed students the opportunity to see the evaporator at work and ask questions about the process of making maple syrup.