For nearly two hours, students were stuck in St. Louis after their field trip to Cahokia Mounds on Sept. 2. The bus taking the students from Howell and Howell North back to their schools, broke down on the highway due to a leak in the anti-freeze tubing. The students walked around a parking lot next to Busch Stadium waiting for a new bus to arrive and take them back to school.

“When the bus broke down it made the field trip a lot more fun.” Sophomore Becca Zile said. “We got two hours when we would have normally been in school just to chill and talk.”  

It was a general consensus within the class that despite the bus breakdown, the field trip served as a great tool for learning about Cahokian culture. Students explored the museum looking for artifacts and displays that helped convey different aspects of Cahokian life. Students also climbed to the top of the largest mound, Monk’s Mound, and walked around the trails going throughout the park.

“It was really cool to see all of the different structures and mounds while we were walking around, and my friends and I went geocaching while we explored different areas of the state park.” Zile said.

AP history students say that this field trip was a one of a kind experience that they won’t forget.

“This was the first time I have gone on a field trip in high school that wasn’t club related, and It will probably be the only time.” sophomore Noah Schulz said. “I will always be able to look back and remember the time our bus broke down in St. Louis, and all of the fun we had at Cahokia Mounds.”