Fifteen Dalton high school students spent two weeks in The Netherlands (March 8th – 21st) living with the families in Den Haag as part of the ongoing Dalton Den Haag Cultural Exchange Program.  This was the American visit, reciprocating the October visit by the Dutch students. It has been an exciting first year of studies in various subjects related to art, architecture, history, and race relationships in the two cultures. 

When students from Dalton Den Haag visited New York City, work began on group research projects with cross-cultural themes.  While in Holland, the student groups presented their final projects at an evening event for the Dutch Dalton community.

Students visited a range of museums in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Delft, including the Anne Frank House, the Rijks, Geemente, and van Gogh Museums, the Mauritshuis, the John Adams Institute, the Centraal Museum in Delft, Droog Design, and Gerrit Rietveld’s Schroder House.  Riding bikes, taking trams, playing laser tag and holding our first meeting in Den Haag’s city hall chamber were all a part of the experience.  The group also spoke with Russell Shorto, author of Island at the Center of the World, and met kinetic artist and inventor Theo Jansen in his studio workshop.  The group had an extraordinary time and felt strong connections with this beautiful country and the people they came to know there.

Individual mini-projects will conclude this first year’s exchange, including more postings on the shared wiki site specific to the group. (you can visit the site at: http://wikis.dalton.org/denhaag) If any students wish to find out about participating in next year’s exchange, email Mr. Meredith or Ms. Gelley.