Boston's venerable Museum of Fine Arts has apologized to a group of minority middle school students who say they were subjected to racism by staff and some other patrons during a field trip.

Museum officials in a letter posted on its website Wednesday apologized to the students and staff at the Helen Y. Davis Leadership Academy in the city's Dorchester neighborhood for "a range of challenging and unacceptable experiences that made them feel unwelcome."

Principal Arturo Forrest tells The Boston Globe he was told that one museum staff member told the students "no food, no drink, and no watermelon." He heard other reports of museum security following his students while leaving white students alone.

Forrest said about 30 seventh grade students were on last week's field trip, all students of color.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.bostonglobe.com