Interdisciplinary Psychology:

EMP Field Trip

My day started off with high expectations; I anticipated having a sense of connectedness not only with other classmates but with myself. I think that sometimes I don't take the opportunity to have new experiences outside of work and school. This field trip was a chance for me to have fun and apply the things I learned and identify them in life. Being able to identify and consequently break out of certain behavior patterns has allowed me some insight into what is important for me.

The car ride to Seattle was a great time for me to get to know a few other classmates and to an extent, build some social supports. We all had common reasons for being in positive psychology and we had an enthusiastic discussion about our plans. I felt a degree of connectedness that being in the classroom hadn't afforded me.

When we arrived at the EMP, there was a window of time where we waited for everyone to arrive. During this period, I was very curious about the EMP building and I observed that others felt the same inquisitiveness. I overheard one conversation about why the building was misshapen compared to the norm and that the colors represented portions from music history. Understanding more about its origins enabled me to have a greater appreciation of the beauty of the building. The inside was just as unique as the outside and it was exciting to imagine the ingenuity that went into designing the building. I found myself thinking, "This is a genuine work of art."

Our introduction guide showed flexibility in graciously tailoring his overview to what he felt our needs were. Upon finishing our introduction, the class divided into subgroups which allowed us to further build social supports. As these groups began to explore the facility, the group I was in came upon a guitar tornado. I was really impressed at the spectacular creativity and technology it took to make some of the guitars play live music with robotics.

As we moved more deeply into the museum, we happened upon a room dedicated to a video and audio history of music. The stories that I listened to were fantastic because they helped me to see from someone else's view point the importance of music and they also piqued my love of learning. The one I remember the most was about human rights and the titanic role music played with African Americans fighting for and acquiring equal rights. Oral history has been a huge part of communities for as long as human history has been recorded in part because it allows traditions, culture, and knowledge to be passed on despite population growth. Unfortunately I was only able to experience a small portion of all the available histories, but in that time I grew to appreciate more deeply the epic amount of effort which has been put into the creation of art and beauty.

The portion of this exhibit that I particularly enjoyed was the personal stories of past EMP visitors. There was a room one could go into and record what music has done for them personally, or to make any other comment. I went in with a group and we each put in a short blurb. As I recorded my own message, the notion that the tradition of passing on history orally is still a great way to build communities became personalized.

I decided to go off alone for a little while to the Science fiction Museum. Being able to see exhibits from Lost in Space to Star Trek and everything in between made me recall a flood of fond memories from my past. Science fiction is one of my favorite literary genres because the prevailing idea with science fiction is often the need to be open minded. Also, many sci-fi stories convey a sense of hope for mankind's future.

At the end of the SF museum, a glass artist who makes space ships was featured! I have always been interested in this art, so I really enjoyed seeing the video about this artist. I could tell during the times it showed him blowing the glass that he was definitely in his element and I immediately thought of the concept of "flow".

It was lucky that I next ran into another class member in the SF museum and went to the food court with them because hunger was starting to creep into my awareness. When we arrived in the food court, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a yo-yo competition was being held. I love yo-yos and even though I am by no stretch of the imagination competitive with them, I have a certain admiration for anyone who is. I imagine becoming adept enough to compete with a yo-yo takes years of practice, dedication, and energy. In addition to seeing things I didn't know one could do with a yo-yo, I saw a lot of families there supporting the competitors. There was a lot of positive feedback for the entertaining tricks and feats of the competitors.

Quite hungry after spending a bit of extra time checking out the yo-yos on the way to lunch, I was somehow still able to show self restraint by sticking to my goal of not spending money on additional food, and just sticking to what I had brought with me. There was a lot of temptation though, because the fragrance of delectables from each booth was very enticing.

After we were done with our lunch, we met up with other classmates and headed back to EMP. The day was nearly perfect and the atmosphere felt happy with the rides going and the sun shining. I had some time left so I headed up to the 3^rd floor to play with the interactive displays. I tried out the guitar, bass and mixing boards. They were a blast to play with but I can see the amount of work needed in order for anyone to master those instruments would be significant.

I enjoyed watching the people as they were learning. Some of them would one moment be having a great time then suddenly look around and the next moment, become self conscious when they made a mistake. I wish that I knew how to play any one of the instruments, because I think I would have tried a "jam session".

In my opinion, EMP is a fantastic and innovative institution because it brings together communities and provides a more hands on and personalized inside view of music and its many relevant cultural extensions. I would definitely make a second trip to EMP, and in fact may bring my life partner (who majored in orchestral performance) next time I go!