The week before every Marlborough girl ran off to celebrate with family for Thanksgiving break and catch up on some rest, a few of Ms. Battiata and Ms. Rosi’s Spanish classes had the opportunity to see a new exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art entitled, “Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico.”

After finding out about the exhibit, Battiata jumped at the chance to take her students, seeing it as an opportunity to teach the girls about a subject not thoroughly covered in class.

“We wanted to introduce the girls to curriculum they don’t hear so much about,” said Battiata, who explained that while the ancient Incas and Mayans are covered in their textbooks, the Olmecs are only briefly mentioned.

This is the first time the Olmec exhibit has been on the west coast, and the girls were amazed at the sophistication of an ancient civilization with no written language of its own. With the help of informative docents, the classes learned more than they ever would have from a textbook. The Olmecs were famous for their giant statues of single heads, carved with the the ancient symbols of the people.

“It’s really amazing to walk into the exhibit and come face to face with the giant [Olmec] heads,” said Battiata. “[They] are quite impressive, and are a testament to an incredible civilization.”