One of my favorite unique places to go on Cornell’s campus is the Johnson Museum of Art. Open on Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 am to 5pm and conveniently located right across from the Arts Quad, the Johnson Museum provides a much-needed respite in my busy schedule. I love stopping by every so often and just taking an hour out of my day, putting on some classical music in my headphones, and decompressing by wandering around the art galleries. And the best part is that the museum provides free admission, so you can go as often as you’d like!

The Johnson Museum holds more than 40,000 works in its collection from all around the world. On my most recent visit, I visited their collections of classical art and artifacts from Greece and Rome, as well as their European art on the same floor. I also visited their temporary exhibit on modern art on the first floor. In past visits, I have gone up to the upper floors to wander around the beautiful Asian art collections. A not-so-secret secret: the top floor of the Johnson offers the best panoramic views of the Cornell campus and Ithaca I’ve ever seen – if you go up to the top on a sunny day, it’s breathtaking!

I especially love visiting the Johnson Museum because it allows me to apply the knowledge I’ve gained from many of my classes here at Cornell. For example, I saw a marble statue of Zeus Ammon on display that reminded me of a course I’m currently taking called “Cleopatra’s Egypt: Tradition and Transformation,” in which I’m learning about the period where Egypt was under Greek (and then eventually Roman) rule. In one of the lectures, we learned about the deity Zeus Ammon and his connection to Alexander the Great, so when I was wandering around the museum and saw this object, I was able to understand part of its history and significance, which I found very cool.  

Overall, the Johnson Museum is just one example of what makes Cornell such an interesting place to attend school – I personally am a big fan of museums, and I love that we have such a wonderful one right here on campus! If you are a museum fan or have family in town and are looking for something fun to do, I would definitely suggest visiting the Johnson Museum!  

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