The night at the museum was an interesting experience for me. It was the first Macaulay event that I went to after the start of school. This made the night better because I knew people going into the night, which made the entire night more enjoyable as I was able to talk to more people without needing to introduce myself. Ironically I wound up still being paired up with two kids who I had never met before. I enjoyed meeting them and we had a fun night together.

I was looking forward to the trip going into the night because I had never been to this museum. I had been to the Museum of Natural History many times before and I had been to other museums as well such as the Staten Island Museum however I had never been to the Met and I was looking forward to what was inside. My anticipation was heightened when I heard about the museums big cat exhibit, which I enjoyed.

My favorite piece, which I viewed during the course of the night, was “View of the Brooklyn Bridge” by Samuel Halpert. This view caught my eye in particular because I have always been fascinated by the architecture of New York City and I have also always enjoyed viewing bridges all around the world and particularly those from the United States and New York City. I enjoyed this artworks turn of the century depiction of New York City where there were still farm tools and warehouses for farming around and there was also the city sprouting up in the background and looking very much like it looks today. I also enjoyed seeing the different forms of boats in the water. There are steam engine boats as well as sailboats, which shows that technology is coming along and industrialization is well underway. One thing I did not like about the painting was the lack of detail on it. There was no difference between the buildings in the background. They are all just silver with black windows. I would have enjoyed seeing detail in the work where the artist included different things on each building like a fire escape or a terrace.

All in all I thought my first experience at the Met was a success. I got to meet new people as well as learn about a museum, which I had never been to before. I also got to see works of art, which I had never before seen, and that I enjoyed viewing very much. In particular I enjoyed “View of the Brooklyn Bridge” by Samuel Halpert and I thought it was fitting for the place which I was at, as we were not all that far from the Brooklyn Bridge.