McClymonds High School Students Explore Industrial Arts During Recent Field Trip

Community

McClymonds High School Students Explore Industrial Arts During Recent Field Trip

Cathy Niland | 09.22.2021

This past Thursday, The Crucible hosted its first field trip since February 2020. We welcomed 48 students from McClymonds High School into the building for a tour and demonstrations in Glass Flameworking, Bike Shop, Ceramics, and Leather Working. For many, it was their first time seeing the industrial arts up close.

For years, Crucible field trip days have served as a pathway for recruiting students, Fuego Youth Leaders, even faculty and staff. Community Program Manager, Iz Plasencia explains, “A lot of the folks that have gone on to become students and faculty members or staff members, a lot of of them had their first introduction to this space through the field trip program. It shows the value of exposure to The Crucible.”

MClymonds Field Trip September 2021_C’Zarriah

C’Zarriah Davis-Smith, former Fuego Youth Leader and current TA in Glass Flameworking and Glass Fusing & Slumping, leads a demonstration during Thursday’s field trip.

While the most recent iteration of field trips has been considerably scaled back, it’s still a valuable introduction to The Crucible’s resources—including specialized classes offered to students through our ongoing partnership with McClymonds High School.

Over the past two years, McClymonds students have attended fine and industrial arts classes at The Crucible, providing them with hands-on learning opportunities no longer offered through their OUSD curriculum. During last year’s program, McClymonds students, then participating in remote learning, benefitted greatly from in-person Crucible classes.

“A lot of the students that participated in the program, teachers were saying that those students were turning their cameras on more often,” shared Youth Program Associate Samantha Espinoza. She continued, “If a teacher came with their students to do a class, those teachers reported getting more engagement out of those students.”

Following their field trip, we hope students feel inspired to register for upcoming Crucible classes provided through our McClymonds partnership. It not only allows them the chance to explore new art forms and STEAM concepts but can also lead to career pathways in the industrial and fine arts.

While COVID-19 protocols have limited our ability to host large-scale field trips, we are looking forward to expanding these opportunities to other Oakland schools in the future.

Learn More About Field Trips