CUSP’s Community Building Events enrich the education of our scholars outside of the classroom, from exploring the resources on campus to navigating all that New York City has to offer.
Community Building Events
Tour of the Cloisters
Students are invited to experience the art and architecture of medieval Europe at The Met Cloisters, from intimate works of private devotion to the splendor of the Unicorn Tapestries.
Tour of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
Scholars are treated to a walking tour of the grounds of the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge led by Alexandra Kanonik, the Jamaica Bay Program Director of the American Littoral Society. Founded in 1972, the refuge emerged from the collaborative efforts of local activists and government agencies aiming to preserve and restore the Jamaica Bay estuary. Originally a dumping ground, the area has undergone a remarkable transformation thanks to the dedicated conservation initiatives led out of the office we toured.
Today, the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is a thriving habitat teeming with wildlife. During our tour, we saw egrets, ospreys, and flocks of ducks and swallows. Ongoing conservation efforts focus on controlling invasive species, monitoring wildlife populations, and restoring habitats. One notable endeavor is the osprey restoration project, aimed at bolstering the population of these magnificent raptors in the bay area. Through the installation of nesting platforms and habitat enhancements, the refuge provides a safe haven for ospreys to breed and thrive, contributing to the ecological balance of the region.
This field trip provides scholars with a firsthand glimpse into the rich biodiversity found in the outskirts of New York City
Audubon Mural Project Walking Tour
Named for famed naturalist John James Audubon, the NYC Audubon Society has been advocating on behalf of the city’s wild birds for over 40 years, running over 200 educational programs per year. Students were surprised to learn that despite NYC’s reputation as an urban jungle, hundreds of bird species pass through the city on a yearly basis. Students were taken on a two-hour walking tour of the Audubon Society’s ambitious mural project, which spans Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights. Inspired by the fact that climate change poses a dire threat to nearly half of North American bird species by 2080, Audubon has commissioned artists to paint murals of the affected birds. These include familiar species like the barn swallow, bald eagle, osprey, mountain bluebird, snowy owl, Canada goose, and trumpeter swans – all of which featured in murals that students saw on our tour – as well as the yellow-throated warbler, pine siskin, greater sage grouse, pinyon jay, and fish crow, among many others.
Licensed NYC tour guide Leigh Hallingby leads students on an exploration of these birds and the urban context of the tour, in which murals were sometimes in unexpected places – high up on the sides of buildings, painted across the metal security doors used by businesses, above gas stations, and in small, narrow spaces that were very much in active everyday use.
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
The Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) is a leading research institution affiliated with Columbia University, dedicated to the study of Earth and its processes. Located in Palisades, New York, LDEO boasts a diverse range of research initiatives covering various aspects of Earth science. Scientists and researchers at LDEO investigate topics such as climate change, oceanography, seismology, and the Earth's interior. The observatory is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and instruments, including research vessels, seismic monitoring networks, and laboratories that allow for cutting-edge research. LDEO plays a crucial role in advancing our understanding of the Earth system, contributing valuable insights to address pressing environmental challenges.
Each year, faculty and grad students give students tours of different labs. In the past, students have visited the Tree Ring lab, which uses tree rings to study climate and climate change in the past, the Noble Gas Lab, which focuses on the analysis of noble gases, such as helium, neon, and argon, to gain insights into Earth's geophysical processes, and the LDEO Core Repository, the “library” for sediment and rock cores collected from oceans and lakes around the world (Lamont houses the largest core repository in the world, providing a valuable resource for researchers across the world studying Earth’s past and its implications for the future!).
Met Museum Cloisters Tour
Opened in 1938 as a branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, the Met Cloisters is the only museum in the country devoted exclusively to European medieval art and architecture. Located in Fort Tyron Park in northern Manhattan, the museum derives its name from the remains of four medieval cloisters - quadrangular covered walkways that provided access to other monastic buildings - which have been incorporated into the museum’s structure. Each set of cloisters leads to galleries displaying European sculpture and painting from the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Overlooking the picturesque Hudson River, the ornate design, peaceful ambience, and tranquil surroundings of the Met Cloisters evoke a sense of the detached nature of European monastic life. CUSP scholars are invited to attend a personalized, guided tour of the cloisters as well as the surrounding galleries and courtyards.
St. John the Divine Cathedral Tour
At over 125 years old, St. John the Divine Cathedral is a landmarked building containing an assortment of architectural styles, from the Romanesque columns to the neo-Gothic vaulting. St. John is the largest Cathedral in the world, and one of the five largest church buildings in the world. Since its construction in 1892, the Cathedral has aspired to be an intellectual center and house of prayer for diverse groups of people.
CUSP students are invited to join the Vertical Tour, climbing narrow winding stone staircases to four points of interest within (and outside) the cathedral, including a beautiful rooftop view of New York City and a stop in “la fôret,” the attic-like “forest” of metal girders that holds up the roof of the cathedral. The tour provides a glimpse into the Cathedral as an homage to the history and heritage of New York City.