Iowa State students will be getting a glimpse of “The Windy City” today when they visit The Art Institute of Chicago.

Gary Tartakov, professor of art and design, took more than 200 students to the museum, which holds the largest collection of paintings and antiquities in Chicago.

The students left at about 6 a.m. and won’t return until almost midnight.

Tartakov said he hopes the students find the experience educational.

“I think the trip will give students the chance to expand their knowledge in art history and design and to take the information that they have learned in class and see if it plugs in,” he said.

All students were invited to attend, but the majority of students who attended the trip are undergraduates from the classes History of Design, Survey of Art History and Women in Art.

“I chose The Art Institute of Chicago because it was close and holds great collections of the world,” Tartakov said.

One of the main reasons why Brian Crooks, senior in art and design, went on the trip was because he wants to go back to a section that he had not liked before.

“Things from the 10th, 11th, 12th century, like Christian and Byzantine art, which are very non-dimensional, I didn’t really like,” he said. “Now having the class, I want to go back and see it again.”

Casey Hayes, sophomore in graphic design, also said the trip should be informative.

“I think it will be interesting to go with our professor and see the art in person, opposed to slides and in books,” Hayes said. “Our professor told us when you see it up close, you can see the texture and size.”

Hayes said there is nothing in particular he wants to see, but his favorite art is modern and constructive, so he’d like to visit the three-dimensional sculptures.

Tartakov said the students can wander around and explore the museum on their own, but they have one requirement while they are there.

“I would like them to look very carefully at one piece of art for about 10 minutes,” he said. “After studying it, they will have to write a short report in the form of a poem, literary description or even a drawing.”

Tartakov said he has asked the students to do this because using slides in the classroom does not give them the chance to really examine art closely.