Torgelow News

Schloss Torgelow Boarding School on the road: Potatoes, climate, and comets – The 8th grade class trip to Potsdam

Schloss Torgelow: Boarding School & High School Torgelow News Schloss Torgelow Boarding School on the road: Potatoes, climate, and comets – The 8th grade class trip to Potsdam

A week full of culture, science, and shared experiences—the eighth-grade class trip to Potsdam had it all: history and art, starry skies and climate research, fun and team spirit. Unforgettable memories were made between Sanssouci Palace, Babelsberg Film Park, and the planetarium.

The classes 8a, b, and c travelled to beautiful Potsdam this year. On Monday, after arriving at the youth hostel and enjoying a hearty lunch, we immediately plunged into the city of the Prussian kings. The individual classes competed in a scavenger hunt, racing to solve tricky puzzles as quickly as possible while getting to know Potsdam’s most important sights. Fourteen stations and nearly ten kilometres later, the winners were finally crowned in what was probably the most ceremonial setting imaginable: Sanssouci Palace. There, despite our tired feet, everyone had to become active once more. In an immersive student theatre performance, we reenacted the life story of Frederick the Great. The commands of the Soldier King rang out loudly, along with Frederick’s flute playing and the resounding “Jawoll!” calls of the Long Fellows echoing through the palace park. To conclude, as tradition demands, potatoes were placed on the grave of the Old Fritz. The relaxed evening playing table tennis and billiards back at the hostel was well deserved by everyone.

On Tuesday, we aimed high: bouldering in the climbing gym called for coordination, strength, and cool-headedness. All eighth graders gave it their all, and especially during the final climbing competition, even the last “sloth” turned into a lively little climbing monkey. The competition came to an end without accidents—though not entirely without a bit of cheating—and the sore legs were soon joined by aching arms and shoulders. A full-body workout within 24 hours!

In the afternoon, we deepened our knowledge of Potsdam, especially about the various immigrant groups that have shaped the cityscape to this day. During the guided city tour “Each According to His Own Fashion,” we learned a great deal about the Dutch, French, and Russians who made Potsdam their home. Afterwards, the student groups explored Potsdam’s main shopping street on their own before finally heading back to the youth hostel for dinner. But the day was not over yet: in the evening, a visit to the planetarium was on the agenda, where everything from star clusters to comets was explained in detail and curious questions about our night sky were answered.

Wednesday was the big culture day. The morning workshop at the Barberini Museum turned even the last skeptic into a fan of Impressionism and allowed us to become budding Monets ourselves. After a brief introduction, we were free to draw, paint, dab, and splatter until 30 absolute masterpieces emerged. Some may have looked more like abstract art or naive style—but let’s not be picky.

At Filmpark Babelsberg, everything then revolved around moving images. In Germany’s great film factory, next to the world’s first studio-built film set, we went in search of traces of classic German cinema and modern Hollywood blockbusters. We were shaken up in the 4D cinema and amused by the Western show. Fittingly, the evening also took us to the movies: A Whole Half Brother made us laugh and reflect. The film’s soundtrack echoed through the hostel corridors again and again over the following days.

Thursday was unfortunately already the last full day, but it was one full of highlights. Everyone had to decide in advance whether they preferred to explore the natural sciences at the Nano exhibition or engage with the big questions of climate change at the Helmholtz Institute—a tough choice. The Nano group was able not only to try out more than 50 experiments, but also to grow their own slime mold and take it back to Torgelow with them. At the Helmholtz Institute, by contrast, the effects of climate change on plants were demonstrated, and we gained fascinating insights into the important work of the researchers.

Biology remained the focus in the afternoon as well. At the Biosphäre, we first enjoyed our class meal before getting to know flora and fauna from all over the world in the warm, humid tropical house. The Biosphere quiz was played in teams, and the winners enjoyed a chocolatey prize in the following school week. Afterwards, Potsdam’s city center was explored one last time before it was time to pack our bags.

On Friday, it was already time to head home again. The class trip to Potsdam will certainly stay in our memories for a long time—at least as long as our slime molds survive.