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20 field trip facts.

Written by Marlena Yan

Modified & Updated: 06 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Sherman Smith

Field trips are an exciting and educational way for students to explore the world beyond the walls of their classrooms. These trips provide a hands-on experience that reinforces classroom learning and allows students to engage with their surroundings in a meaningful way. From visiting museums and historical sites to exploring nature reserves and science centers, field trips offer a range of opportunities for students to expand their knowledge and develop a deeper understanding of the subjects they study. In this article, we will delve into 20 fascinating field trip facts that highlight the importance of these excursions and the positive impact they can have on students’ academic and personal growth. So fasten your seatbelts and get ready for a virtual journey through the world of field trips!

Key Takeaways:

• Field trips are a fun way to learn about iconic landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the Great Wall of China. They are gifts from other countries and hold fascinating historical secrets.
• From the Great Barrier Reef to the Victoria Falls, the world is full of amazing natural and man-made wonders waiting to be explored. Each site has its own unique story and significance.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France.

One of the most iconic landmarks in the United States, the Statue of Liberty was given to the country by the people of France as a symbol of friendship and freedom.

The Great Wall of China is visible from space.

Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China cannot be seen from space with the naked eye. It is too narrow and blends in with the surrounding landscape.

The Eiffel Tower was originally supposed to be a temporary structure.

When it was first built for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris, the Eiffel Tower was only intended to stand for 20 years. However, it gained popularity and was eventually saved from demolition.

The Grand Canyon is over a mile deep.

Stretching for 277 miles, the Grand Canyon is not only breathtakingly beautiful but also impressively deep, reaching depths of over a mile.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.

Located off the coast of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is an expansive coral reef system that spans over 2,300 kilometers, making it the world’s largest living structure.

The Pyramids of Giza are one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Built as tombs for the pharaohs, the Pyramids of Giza are an exceptional archaeological wonder and the only surviving monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Taj Mahal is made entirely of white marble.

This breathtaking mausoleum in India was constructed using pristine white marble, which adds to its incredible beauty and grandeur.

The Colosseum in Rome could hold up to 50,000 spectators.

An architectural marvel of ancient Rome, the Colosseum could accommodate an astonishing number of people for various public spectacles and gladiatorial contests.

Machu Picchu was built by the Inca civilization.

Perched high in the Andes Mountains of Peru, Machu Picchu is an extraordinary ancient city believed to have been constructed by the Inca people around the 15th century.

The Sydney Opera House took 16 years to build.

This world-renowned performing arts center in Australia required extensive planning and construction and was completed in 1973 after over a decade of work.

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world.

Spanning nine countries in South America, the Amazon Rainforest is a biodiversity hotspot and home to countless species of plants, animals, and indigenous communities.

The Great Sphinx of Giza has the body of a lion and the head of a human.

This majestic statue in Egypt is believed to represent the pharaoh Khafre and is one of the most recognizable symbols of ancient Egyptian civilization.

The Acropolis in Athens was dedicated to the goddess Athena.

Rising above the city of Athens, the Acropolis is an ancient citadel that houses important structures, including the Parthenon, which was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena.

The Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world.

Enclave within Rome, the Vatican City is the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and the smallest internationally recognized independent state.

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is famous for its wildlife migration.

Every year, millions of wildebeests and other grazing herbivores make a remarkable journey across the Serengeti National Park in search of fresh grazing lands.

The Alhambra in Spain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This stunning fortress complex in Granada showcases the rich Islamic architecture and cultural heritage of Andalusia, earning its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Petra archaeological site in Jordan served as a trading hub.

Nestled within the desert canyons of Jordan, Petra was once a bustling city and a crucial trading center between the Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula.

The Kremlin in Moscow is the official residence of the President of Russia.

The Kremlin is a fortified complex in the heart of Moscow and serves as the political center of the country, housing government offices and presidential residences.

The Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world.

This impressive temple complex in Cambodia spans over 400 acres and is a significant symbol of the Khmer Empire’s architectural and religious achievements.

The Victoria Falls in Africa is one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

Straddling the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world and a breathtaking natural wonder that attracts visitors from all over.

Field trips are an essential part of the learning experience for students. Not only do they provide a break from the traditional classroom setting, but they also offer practical and hands-on learning opportunities. From visiting museums and historical sites to exploring nature and science centers, field trips allow students to connect with the real world and enhance their understanding of various subjects.By immersing themselves in new environments and experiencing things firsthand, students can develop a deeper appreciation for the subjects they are studying. Field trips also help stimulate curiosity and critical thinking skills, encouraging students to ask questions, make observations, and analyze their surroundings.Moreover, field trips promote social interaction and teamwork among students. They provide opportunities for students to bond with their classmates, share experiences, and build lasting memories. These trips also foster independence and responsibility as students learn to navigate unfamiliar places and make decisions.In conclusion, field trips go beyond traditional classroom learning by offering unique and enriching experiences that enhance students’ education and personal growth. Whether it’s exploring historical landmarks or engaging with the natural world, field trips provide valuable learning opportunities that cannot be replicated in the confines of a classroom.

1. Why are field trips important?

Field trips are important because they provide students with hands-on learning experiences that go beyond what can be taught in the classroom. They help students connect theory to practice and understand subjects in a real-world context.

2. What subjects can benefit from field trips?

Field trips can benefit a wide range of subjects. History, science, art, and geography are just a few examples. Any subject that can be enhanced by visiting relevant sites or museums can benefit from a field trip.

3. How do field trips promote social interaction?

Field trips provide opportunities for students to interact with their classmates outside of the classroom setting. They encourage teamwork and collaboration, promoting social bonds and creating a sense of community among students.

4. Are field trips only for school-aged children?

No, field trips can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Educational trips for adults or families can also be organized to explore new places and learn about different cultures, history, or natural wonders.

5. How can teachers prepare for a successful field trip?

Teachers can ensure a successful field trip by planning ahead, considering the logistics, and providing students with essential information about the trip. It’s also crucial to establish clear expectations and guidelines to ensure the safety and well-being of all participants.

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Yes, Field Trips Are Worth the Effort

Culturally enriching trips can boost grades and decrease absences and behavioral infractions, new research reveals. 

As a teacher, Elena Aguilar often looked for opportunities to get her students out of the classroom and into different neighborhoods or natural environments. “We did the usual museum trips and science center stuff, but I loved the trips which pushed them into unfamiliar territory,” writes Aguilar , an instructional coach and author. Nudging kids out of their comfort zones, she says, “taught them about others as well as themselves. It helped them see the expansiveness of our world and perhaps inspired them to think about what might be available to them out there.”

Aguilar’s thinking made an impact: 15 years after traveling with her third-grade class to Yosemite National Park, a student contacted Aguilar on Facebook to thank her for the life-changing excursion. “You changed our lives with that trip,” the student wrote. “It's what made me want to be a teacher, to be able to give that same gift to other kids.”

As schools grapple with pandemic-related concerns about balancing in-seat instructional time with non-essentials like trips, new research published in The Journal of Human Resources argues that field trips, and the vital educational experiences that they provide—whether it’s a visit to a local museum or a big commitment like Aguilar’s national park trip—deliver a host of positive social and academic outcomes and are worth the effort.

“The pandemic should not keep schools from providing these essential cultural experiences forever,” asserts Jay P. Greene , one of the study’s co-authors and a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, in an opinion piece for the Daily News . “If schools make culturally-enriching field trips an integral part of the education experience, all students—especially those whose parents have a harder time accessing these experiences on their own—would benefit.”

In the study, researchers assigned more than 1,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students in Atlanta to two groups. One group participated in three to six “culturally-enriching” field trips—visits to an art museum, a live theater performance, and a symphony concert—while students in the control group stayed put in class. The outcome? Kids in the field trip group “scored higher on end-of-grade exams, received higher course grades, were absent less often, and had fewer behavioral infractions,” compared to students in the control group, according to a ScienceDaily brief . Benefits lasted two to three years, Greene writes, and were “most visible when students were in middle school.”

“We are able to demonstrate that a relatively simple intervention—and we consider it pretty low-touch; three field trips in a year, maybe six field trips in two years—can actually have some substantial impacts,” says lead study author Heidi Holmes Erickson in an interview with The 74 . “They’re not just limited to social benefits. It shows that smaller interventions can actually have some significant effects on academics as well.”

Field trips aren’t a threat to in-class instruction, Erickson notes, they’re a tool to help bolster engagement and expand students’ horizons. “It's possible to expose students to a broader world and have a culturally enriching curriculum without sacrificing academic outcomes, and it may actually improve academic outcomes,” Erickson says. Far from harming test scores, the researchers found that culturally rich excursions reinforce academics and “students who participated in these field trips were doing better in class.”

Meanwhile, class trips don't need to be elaborate productions to make an impact: small excursions outside the classroom—"low-touch," as the researchers call them—can pack a punch. Here’s how three educators recommend dialing it back with low-stakes options that are both engaging and stimulating for students, but might not require days to prepare and plan:

Make Them Bite-Sized : Instead of allocating an entire day to a field trip, educational consultant Laurel Schwartz takes her classes on micro field trips , or “short outings that can be completed in a single class period.” These real-world encounters, she says, are especially beneficial for English learners and world language students. A micro field trip to a nearby park or around school grounds, for example, can be a great opportunity to “enhance a unit on nature and wildlife while reinforcing vocabulary for senses, colors, and the concepts of quantity and size,” Schwartz writes. “Afterwards, students might write descriptive stories set in the place you visited using vocabulary collected and defined together by the class.”

Try Teacher-Less Trips : To encourage exploration and learning outside of the classroom, former social studies teacher Arch Grieve removes himself from the equation with teacher-less field trips rooted in students’ local communities. Grieve only suggests options that are directly tied to a unit being discussed in class—like attending a talk at a local university or visiting a museum or cultural festival—and offers extra credit to incentivize students. “These trips allow for a greater appreciation of my subject matter than is possible in the school setting, and perhaps best of all, there's little to no planning involved.”

Explore Virtual Options : It may not be as fun as visiting in person, but the Internet makes it possible to visit museums like The National Gallery of London and The Vatican Museums without leaving the school building. Middle school English teacher Laura Bradley likes to search the Museums for Digital Learning website by topic, keyword, and grade level, to find lessons and activities that meet her unique curricular needs. The site grants access to digitized museum collections, 3D models, audio files, documents, images, and videos. 

• 10 Exciting Field Trip Facts For Kids

10 Exciting Field Trip Facts for Kids

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Wonder of the Day #2408

Why are Field Trips Called Field Trips?

LANGUAGE ARTS — Languages

Have You Ever Wondered...

• Why are field trips called field trips?
• What are the benefits of field trips?
• Why should family members go on field trips?
• Education ,
• Field Trip ,
• Grandparent ,
• Foster Parent ,
• Classmate ,
• Ecosystem ,
• Chaperone ,

Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Madie . Madie Wonders , “ Why do they call field trips field trips? ” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Madie !

Have you ever gone on a field trip? Field trip day is often the most exciting day of school! Family members volunteer to go along, and they--along with all the kids--pack a lunch and load up the bus for the day ahead. Field trips are both fun and educational . But have you ever WONDERed where the name came from? What puts the FIELD in field trips?

When you think of the word “field,” many things might come to mind. Do you picture farmland? An open prairie ? How about a baseball diamond or soccer field? Adults might even think of the field (area of interest) they work in. History buffs might think of famous battlefields . A scientist’s mind might go to magnetic fields .

As you can see, the word “field” has many definitions. But when people talk about field trips, they’re using a less common meaning of the word “field.” In this case, “field” describes work done outside of an office or classroom. That makes sense if you think about what a field trip is. It’s an outing that gives you the chance to learn something new outside of school!

The best field trips teach you a lot while you’re having fun. A trip to the zoo can lead kids to learn about new animals. Going to a national monument gives you the chance to experience history firsthand. Even a field trip to a local park can be educational . Kids can learn about new plants and ecosystems .

The value of field trips can’t be overstated . Any student or teacher will tell you field trips are great. And there’s plenty of research to support that, too! Studies on field trips show they have many benefits . Field trips can help students become more interested in new topics. They can also make kids feel more positive about what they learn. Unsurprisingly, studies also found that students remember field trips for a long time!

It’s no wonder that field trips are unforgettable. There’s nothing like setting out on an adventure with your teachers and classmates. Often, kids even get to bring family members along for the ride.

One of the best things about field trips is that they give families the chance to learn together. Parents , grandparents, foster parents , and other adults who chaperone field trips really add to the experience . They get the chance to know their child’s teacher and classmates better. Best of all, adult chaperones can join in the fun and learning right alongside the students!

What kind of field trip would you like to go on? Do you want to tour a local museum? How about a trip to a cave or factory ? You can learn something new from just about any location!

Common Core , Next Generation Science Standards , and National Council for the Social Studies ."> Standards : CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.7, CCRA.W.8, CCRA.W.9, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.W.1, CCRA.SL.1

Wonder What's Next?

Learn to appreciate differences with tomorrow's Wonder of the Day!

Bring an adult friend or family member along to help with any of these activities:

• Where would you like to go on your next field trip? Identify a location, then write a letter persuading your teacher to take a field trip there. Include details that will convince them. What makes this place interesting? What will you learn? How does it relate to what you’re doing in school?
• Take a virtual field trip! With the help of a friend or family member, identify a topic you want to learn more about. Then, learn more about it on Wonderopolis or Kiddle . Search for related pictures on Safe Search ! Write a paragraph to share what you learned.
• You don’t have to wait for school to take a field trip! Ask an adult friend or family member to take you on an educational trip. Watch birds in your local park. Visit the zoo. Go to the post office or a nearby art museum. Ask questions and talk with your friend or family member about what you learned!

Wonder Sources

• https://naaee.org/eepro/research/library/student-self-reported-learning-outcomes (accessed 24 July 2014)
• https://www.informalscience.org/news-views/field-trips-are-valuable-learning-experiences (accessed 24 July 2014)
• https://www.parentscanada.com/school/the-advantages-school-field-trips-can-offer-kids-and-parents (accessed 24 July 2014)
• https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/field (accessed 24 July 2014)

Did you get it?

Wonder contributors.

We’d like to thank:

Zackery , Nathan , donna and Ms.Wahlin's for contributing questions about today’s Wonder topic!

Keep WONDERing with us!

Wonder Words

• educational

Thanks, cncolover!

We're glad you liked this Wonder, Adelaide! Keep WONDERing with us!

That's a great question for a Wonder Journey, Daniel! Let us know what you find out. 

That's WONDERful, jack! 

We hope you enjoyed that play, chase! What other field trips have you gone on?

Thanks for stopping by, mason!

Have you ever gone on a field trip wonderopolis peeps???????

We've gone on many field trips! They're the best. 

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Question 1 of 3

Which of these is NOT a benefit of field trips?

• a Higher interest in a new topic Not Quite!
• b More positive feelings toward learning Not Quite!
• c Family members can come along and learn together Not Quite!
• d Students get to go wherever they want Correct!

Question 2 of 3

When someone talks about field trips, the word “field” means...

• a work done outside of an office or classroom. Correct!
• b an open prairie. Not Quite!
• c an area of interest. Not Quite!
• d a place to play sports. Not Quite!

Question 3 of 3

This Wonder was mostly about...

• a where in the US you can take the best field trips. Not Quite!
• b why schools often choose not to take field trips. Not Quite!
• c why field trips are called field trips and how they can benefit learning. Correct!
• d how to persuade a family member to go on your next field trip. Not Quite!

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Five Field Trip Facts

by Blog Contributor | Nov 9, 2017 | Field Trips

Lauren on an NRF Field Trip.

Lauren Koshere, donor relations coordinator at the Natural Resources Foundation, shares fun facts and first impressions of our long-standing Field Trip program.

Lauren’s Field Trip Facts

• Getting active in nature is so important to NRF that it’s actually part of my job description. How cool is that?
• Field Trips are a seriously awesome program tool for a nonprofit organization. Each trip is an opportunity for members to meet each other, staff to get to know members, and everyone involved to connect over shared experiences…on common ground. Every other place I’ve ever worked would love to have a program that accomplishes all this at once.
• Our trip leaders are gems. They share not just knowledge and expertise, but deep personal commitments to the places and ecosystems they love.
• Reminder: our state is gorgeous. And not just where it looks most rugged, wild, or “untouched.” Watch out, because you’ll fall in love with the prairies, the wetlands, the river dalles.
• Our members are myth-busters, disrupting stereotypes about conservation-minded people. Here are some of the diverse occupations of a few members I’ve met so far: retired middle school principal, cheese company engineer, John Deere factory worker, Air Force pilot, ring master for a traveling circus (no kidding!).
• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
• Environmental Education
• Field Trips
• Great Wisconsin Birdathon
• I Heart Wisconsin
• Lands & Waters
• Profiles in Conservation

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These eye-opening field trips can spark kids’ curiosity

From history to art and adventure, students want trips that reflect current issues and diverse views.

While most school trips remain on hold due to the pandemic, many families are planning their own educational outings this spring and summer. They’re looking for travel experiences that match curious kids with issues that engage them, from racial equity to cultural appropriation.

“In addition to discussions around inclusivity, students are interested in sustainable tourism and the impact they have on the environment,” says Carylann Assante, CEO of the Student Youth Tourism Association, an organization that helps schools plan and execute field trips.

Whether it’s a visit to a historical site, a museum, a national park, or a play, diverse views help to meet students’ questions head-on, says Impact Travel Alliance founder Kelsey Louise.

When we fail to include all stories, says Brent Leggs , executive director of the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund at the National Trust for Historic Preservation , “we lose an opportunity to stretch our intellectual curiosity.”

“A big piece of the problem we’re facing with racial discrimination and white supremacy boils down to lack of empathy,” says Christine Koh , a neuroscientist turned multimedia creative. “Research shows that helping kids see their similarities with other people is a key way to help develop empathy.”  

From military forts to gold rush towns, these field-trip destinations—once it is safe to visit—will help students fill in some of the gaps in their textbooks and newsfeeds.

New eyes on history

Civil War sites, plantation homes, and historical properties often celebrate the conquerors and owners at the expense of the people they affected or displaced. “The historical interpretation is amazing in these places, but often misses out on massive things or doesn’t go back far enough,” says Meera Dattani, editor of Adventure.com and the Unpacking Media Bias newsletter. Her advice: Look for places where inaccuracies are being addressed in honest and respectful ways.

Minnesota’s Historic Fort Snelling is one example of a reckoning happening across the country. A revamped interpretation strategy is poised to expand the stories of the Dakota people, African Americans, Japanese Americans, women, and others who have until now been given little attention at this early-19th-century military garrison.

( Historic interpreters are changing the conversation about race .)

Historical markers that dot roadsides across the nation are also being rewritten in states such as Michigan , recognizing that past accounts have often been one-sided.

Different social perspectives

Places that share how North America was built (and who did the building) show a side of history that can be especially impactful for families of color, but is important for everyone, says Alex Temblador , a novelist, travel writer, and historian. Ellis Island , Angel lsland Immigration Station (a primary entry point for many Asian immigrants), and the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 all offer opportunities to connect present-day immigration and refugee experiences with those of the past.

“If there’s no story about you belonging in the U.S., or how you got here,” says Temblador, “you just think that your community is less than other communities.”

Families can learn about the little-known experiences of Black and Chinese communities during gold-rush times at places like Barkerville , in British Columbia, Canada, home to one of the first Chinatowns in North America. Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park , in Alaska, tells the story of Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack) , an Indigenous woman credited with the discovery of the nugget that set off the Klondike gold rush.

Custer’s Last Stand is viewed from a different perspective during a tour in southeast Montana with an Indigenous guide . An exhibit at The Levine Museum of the New South , in Charlotte, North Carolina, explores Lumbee people and culture in portraits.

( These 12 photographers explain why diversity is critical to storytelling .)

Learning about the work of Fred Shuttlesworth at the twice-bombed Bethel St. Baptist Church , in Alabama, adds layers to the oft-told stories of the civil rights movement. A visit to New York City’s Stonewall National Monument —in Christopher Park, across from the Stonewall Inn—is a chance to understand the significance of the 1969 riots in the fight for LGBTQ equality.

Neighborhood geography

Segregation and redlining   kept many American city centers homogeneously white. As a result, non-white residents set up neighborhoods of their own. Today many of those places offer tours and alternate viewpoints.  

On the Soul Voices of Frenchtown Heritage Trail , plaques with audio accompaniment tell the stories of prominent residents (both living and deceased) in one of Tallahassee’s oldest African American communities. And at the Weeksville Heritage Center , in Brooklyn, tours of the last three historic Hunterfly Road houses give glimpses into the free Black community established here in 1838.

Exhibits and a reconstructed temple showcase Chinese American history at the museum at Ng Shing Gung , in San Jose, California. The Chinese American Museum , in Los Angeles, and the Chinese American Museum of Chicago both include permanent exhibits showcasing the community’s long history of contributions to the country.

Eastside Los Angeles provides opportunities to learn about the Chicano civil rights movement. And the Workhouse Arts Center , in Virginia, tells the story of the more than 70 suffragists who were imprisoned here in this former correctional facility for demanding the right to vote.  

Beyond Art 101

Alongside Picassos and Rembrandts exists a world of diverse art. An interactive map by Museum Hue pinpoints BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) museums and exhibits. At New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art and Peoples of the Kharga Oasis exhibit , curated by Andrea Achi , adds Egyptian artifacts to the medieval arts galleries.  

( See amazing architecture from your car window .)

Opening later this month, the new Qaumajuq , at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, will house the largest public collection of contemporary Inuit art in the world.  

Mural walks and graffiti tours can offer another way to learn about local community history at a grassroots level.

Outdoors recess  

It’s time to explore the outdoors through a new lens, says Candace Campo of Talaysay Tours , an all-Indigenous guiding company. “We try to share, respectfully, [that] it’s not wilderness,” she says. “People living here utilized this land from time immemorial, and it really separates people from the land when you refer to nature as wilderness, because it’s a collective home.”

( These Indigenous women are reshaping Canada’s tourism industry .)

Look for Indigenous experiences in places beyond national parks and within city spaces, suggests Keith Henry, president and CEO of the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada .

“You can literally point a dart today anywhere on the map in Canada, and if you know where to look, there are Indigenous experiences that are being developed or are in operation right now,” he says.

There are stories from other marginalized groups waiting to be uncovered in state parks and national historical sites, as well. First Landing State Park was built by Company 1371, an all-Black regiment. They’re responsible for more than 20 miles of trails and the wide variety of trees and shrubs that remain to this day. Seminole Canyon State Park , in Texas, was once home to a mixed-race community (runaway enslaved Black people and Seminole people) that came to Texas as fighters for hire. And the Chinese Arch at Golden Spike National Historic Site commemorates the hundreds of Chinese workers, many of whom lost their lives, who helped build the transcontinental railroad.  

You’ll find similar stories in other park spaces , but even local beaches can offer an opportunity for learning. In St. Augustine, Florida, sunbathers at Butler Beach might learn that this popular spring-break destination was founded by businessman and civil rights leader Frank B. Butler as the only beach in the area that admitted Blacks.

Study guides

Research before you go, ask questions while you’re there, and discuss what you’ve learned when it’s over, says the National Trust’s Brent Leggs, who suggests consulting hotel concierges, state and local tourism offices, and museum curators for suggestions of other non-mainstream opportunities.  

Online sites such as Where Women Made History and Destination Indigenous , and apps such as Whose Land could help inform route planning. Older kids can read Anu Taranath’s book Beyond Guilt Trips . Aimed at students, it offers ideas for consideration before, during, and after a trip. Everything from the souvenirs you buy to the meals you eat along the way can broaden your family’s experience, says Impact Travel Alliance’s Kelsey Louise.  

“In some ways I understand why people resist learning about diverse narratives; it’s common for people to gravitate toward the familiar and we want to see ourselves in stories,” says Koh. “But retaining a narrow perspective is not going to serve you, or your family, as our country continues to become more diverse.”

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted travel. When planning a trip, be sure to research your destination and take safety precautions before, during, and after your journey. Click here for National Geographic reporting on the pandemic.

Heather Greenwood Davis is a National Geographic contributing editor. Follow her on Instagram .

Related Topics

• FAMILY TRAVEL
• AFRICAN-AMERICANS
• CULTURAL TOURISM
• HISTORIC SITES

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40+ Fantastic Field Trips for Kids

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40 fun and educational field trips . Check out these fantastic field trips ordered by category. Find likes and resources available in communities all over the US and virtual field trip resources too!

Ready to get your kids excited about learning? Take them out for a field trip! Check out these fun field trips listed by category:

• Art and Music

Virtual Field Trips

Science field trips.

1.Science Museum – Get hands-on with science at your local science museum or science center. Check for shows and special tours for kids.

2. Natural History Museum – See the history of science and learn about plants, animals, and the history of our natural world.

3. Planetarium – Look up for a tour of the starts and learn all about outer space with IMAX movies projected onto a dome.

4. Aquarium – Get up-close and personal with a variety of sea creatures at an aquarium.

5. Botanical Garden – Tour a beautiful botanical garden to see local and exotic plants.

6. Local Animal Sanctuary or Zoo – Animal lovers will love to visit their local sanctuary or zoo. Be sure to ask about demonstrations and animal feeding times!

7. Visit Local, State, or National Parks – Your park system has a lot to offer! Check the websites of your local, state, and national parks to find out about programs, tours, and the natural and historical landmarks you can visit.

Art and Music Field Trips

8. Art Museum or Gallery – Start here to get kids interested in art and culture. You’ll find everything from ancient artifacts to today’s contemporary art.

9. Art Walk or Outdoor Craft Fair – When the weather is nice, take a walk around a local art walk or craft fair. A great time to meet local artists and talk to them about their craft.

10. Orchestra – Don’t miss a trip to the orchestra or children’s orchestra. A field trip that both a budding musician and music novice will love.

11. Ballet, Play, or Concert  – Whether you’re watching community theater or seeing a Broadway show, a field trip to a performance is a must!

12. Tour Urban Art or Music – Search for urban art, street musicians, and outdoor art. A great way to explore and learn about your city.

13. Local Music Festival – Hit a festival and enjoy some music from your local musicians.

History Field Trips

14. Presidential Library – A fantastic field trip if you have one near you! Learn all about the president’s life and work. 14 Presidential Libraries

15. Renaissance Fair – What a fun way to get your kids into history! Look for local Renaissance or Medieval Fairs. List of Renaissance Fairs by State

16. Reenactment – Do you live by a historical reenactment site? Check your local tourist attractions to find all kinds of reenactments from Civil War battles to early American daily life.

17. Native American Historical Sites – Delve deeper into US history by visiting a Native American historical site near you. A list of sites from the National Park Service

18. Holocaust Museum – Learn about the history of the Holocaust and how the events still impact us today at one of our nation’s Holocaust Museums .

19. African American History Museum – Tour an African American History Museum in the US to learn about civil rights, culture, and history of black Americans.

20. Local Landmarks and Historical Sites – Learn this history of your town or city by finding local historical sites. A great place to start is your city or town’s library or visitor’s center for information.

21. Visit your State Capitol – Make a trip to your state capital to visit the Capitol Building and your state’s historical sites. Request information from the city’s tourism website for free guides and details about what to visit.

22. Memorials or Monuments – Do you have a National Memorial near you? Visit memorials or monuments to learn about the people and events that changed our country’s history.

Community Field Trips

23. Fire or Police Station Tour – A great way to learn about our community helpers and safety for young children.

24. Library Tour – Go behind-the-scenes in your local library to see how books are processed and repaired.

25. Farm – Learn about life on the farm, the food we eat, and farm animals when you visit a local farm and meet a farming family.

26. Farmer’s Market – Check out local produce grown by farmers in your area. A great time to meet a variety of people and learn about different jobs in your community.

27. Grocery Store Tour – Contact your local grocery store for a tour of the store! You’ll meet your local butcher, baker, see the big freezers, and the loading dock where deliveries are made. A great field trip to pair with the farm or farmer’s market to learn where our food comes from.

28. Recycling Center or Local Dump – A surprisingly fun and interesting tour. Learn all about where our trash goes after you put it in the bin. Also, check out our Garbage and Recycling unit !

29. Local Factory Tours – Contact a local factory for a tour. You’ll meet the factory employees and see how things are made, by hand or by machine.

30. Sporting Events – Root for your local teams or make a trip to a professional sporting event. Learn about all types of sports from baseball and basketball to swimming or rowing.

31. Dentist, Hospital, or Veterinarian Office Tour – Take a tour or schedule a presentation with your group at a local dentist’s office, hospital, or vet’s office. A great way to learn about these careers.

32. College Campus Tour – Checking out college campuses isn’t only for seniors! Tour your local campus, take a look at student exhibits or displays, or catch a game while you’re there!

33. Television or Radio Station Tour – Contact local stations or colleges for a tour of their studios.

If you want to travel somewhere a little more exotic, you can find a slew of virtual field trips free online.

Through Google Arts and Culture you can visit places all over the world including:

• 34. The White House
• 35. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 36. The Colliseum
• 37. The Eiffel Tower

38. You can also tour the Presidential Libraries through their individual websites. List of 14 Presidential Libraries from the National Archive

Head on over to Google Streetview to tour historical and natural sites around the world including:

• 39. Australian Parks and Wildlife
• 40. International Space Station
• 41. Machu Picchu
• 42. The Amazon River

Ashley helps parents who want to homeschool find the resources they need to successfully teach their children. Ashley is a former teacher, current homeschooler, published author, and designer behind Circle Time with Miss Fox printables as well as the creator of this website, The Homeschool Resource Room.

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• The Journal
• Vol. 14, No. 1

The Educational Value of Field Trips

Jay P. Greene

Brian Kisida

Daniel H. Bowen

Jay P. Greene joined EdNext Editor-in-chief Marty West to discuss the benefits of field trips, including how seeing live theater is a more enriching experience to students, on the EdNext podcast .

Crystal Bridges; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; School Tour © 2013 Stephen Ironside/Ironside Photography Bo Bartlett – “The Box” –  2002 • Oil on Linen • 82 x 100 – Photographer is Karen Mauch

The school field trip has a long history in American public education. For decades, students have piled into yellow buses to visit a variety of cultural institutions, including art, natural history, and science museums, as well as theaters, zoos, and historical sites. Schools gladly endured the expense and disruption of providing field trips because they saw these experiences as central to their educational mission: schools exist not only to provide economically useful skills in numeracy and literacy, but also to produce civilized young men and women who would appreciate the arts and culture. More-advantaged families may take their children to these cultural institutions outside of school hours, but less-advantaged students are less likely to have these experiences if schools do not provide them. With field trips, public schools viewed themselves as the great equalizer in terms of access to our cultural heritage.

Today, culturally enriching field trips are in decline. Museums across the country report a steep drop in school tours. For example, the Field Museum in Chicago at one time welcomed more than 300,000 students every year. Recently the number is below 200,000. Between 2002 and 2007, Cincinnati arts organizations saw a 30 percent decrease in student attendance. A survey by the American Association of School Administrators found that more than half of schools eliminated planned field trips in 2010–11.

The decision to reduce culturally enriching field trips reflects a variety of factors. Financial pressures force schools to make difficult decisions about how to allocate scarce resources, and field trips are increasingly seen as an unnecessary frill. Greater focus on raising student performance on math and reading standardized tests may also lead schools to cut field trips. Some schools believe that student time would be better spent in the classroom preparing for the exams. When schools do organize field trips, they are increasingly choosing to take students on trips to reward them for working hard to improve their test scores rather than to provide cultural enrichment. Schools take students to amusement parks, sporting events, and movie theaters instead of to museums and historical sites. This shift from “enrichment” to “reward” field trips is reflected in a generational change among teachers about the purposes of these outings. In a 2012‒13 survey we conducted of nearly 500 Arkansas teachers, those who had been teaching for at least 15 years were significantly more likely to believe that the primary purpose of a field trip is to provide a learning opportunity, while more junior teachers were more likely to see the primary purpose as “enjoyment.”

If schools are de-emphasizing culturally enriching field trips, has anything been lost as a result? Surprisingly, we have relatively little rigorous evidence about how field trips affect students. The research presented here is the first large-scale randomized-control trial designed to measure what students learn from school tours of an art museum.

We find that students learn quite a lot. In particular, enriching field trips contribute to the development of students into civilized young men and women who possess more knowledge about art, have stronger critical-thinking skills, exhibit increased historical empathy, display higher levels of tolerance, and have a greater taste for consuming art and culture.

Design of the Study and School Tours

The 2011 opening of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Northwest Arkansas created the opportunity for this study. Crystal Bridges is the first major art museum to be built in the United States in the last four decades, with more than 50,000 square feet of gallery space and an endowment in excess of $800 million. Portions of the museum’s endowment are devoted to covering all of the expenses associated with school tours. Crystal Bridges reimburses schools for the cost of buses, provides free admission and lunch, and even pays for the cost of substitute teachers to cover for teachers who accompany students on the tour.

Because the tour is completely free to schools, and because Crystal Bridges was built in an area that never previously had an art museum, there was high demand for school tours. Not all school groups could be accommodated right away. So our research team worked with the staff at Crystal Bridges to assign spots for school tours by lottery. During the first two semesters of the school tour program, the museum received 525 applications from school groups representing 38,347 students in kindergarten through grade 12. We created matched pairs among the applicant groups based on similarity in grade level and other demographic factors. An ideal and common matched pair would be adjacent grades in the same school. We then randomly ordered the matched pairs to determine scheduling prioritization. Within each pair, we randomly assigned which applicant would be in the treatment group and receive a tour that semester and which would be in the control group and have its tour deferred.

We administered surveys to 10,912 students and 489 teachers at 123 different schools three weeks, on average, after the treatment group received its tour. The student surveys included multiple items assessing knowledge about art as well as measures of critical thinking, historical empathy, tolerance, and sustained interest in visiting art museums. Some groups were surveyed as late as eight weeks after the tour, but it was not possible to collect data after longer periods because each control group was guaranteed a tour during the following semester as a reward for its cooperation. There is no indication that the results reported below faded for groups surveyed after longer periods.

We also assessed students’ critical-thinking skills by asking them to write a short essay in response to a painting that they had not previously seen. Finally, we collected a behavioral measure of interest in art consumption by providing all students with a coded coupon good for free family admission to a special exhibit at the museum to see whether the field trip increased the likelihood of students making future visits.

All results reported below are derived from regression models that control for student grade level and gender and make comparisons within each matched pair, while taking into account the fact that students in the matched pair of applicant groups are likely to be similar in ways that we are unable to observe. Standard validity tests confirmed that the survey items employed to generate the various scales used as outcomes measured the same underlying constructs.

The intervention we studied is a modest one. Students received a one-hour tour of the museum in which they typically viewed and discussed five paintings. Some students were free to roam the museum following their formal tour, but the entire experience usually involved less than half a day. Instructional materials were sent to teachers who went on a tour, but our survey of teachers suggests that these materials received relatively little attention, on average no more than an hour of total class time. The discussion of each painting during the tour was largely student-directed, with the museum educators facilitating the discourse and providing commentary beyond the names of the work and the artist and a brief description only when students requested it. This format is now the norm in school tours of art museums. The aversion to having museum educators provide information about works of art is motivated in part by progressive education theories and by a conviction among many in museum education that students retain very little factual information from their tours.

Recalling Tour Details. Our research suggests that students actually retain a great deal of factual information from their tours. Students who received a tour of the museum were able to recall details about the paintings they had seen at very high rates. For example, 88 percent of the students who saw the Eastman Johnson painting At the Camp—Spinning Yarns and Whittling knew when surveyed weeks later that the painting depicts abolitionists making maple syrup to undermine the sugar industry, which relied on slave labor. Similarly, 82 percent of those who saw Norman Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter could recall that the painting emphasizes the importance of women entering the workforce during World War II. Among students who saw Thomas Hart Benton’s Ploughing It Under , 79 percent recollected that it is a depiction of a farmer destroying his crops as part of a Depression-era price support program. And 70 percent of the students who saw Romare Bearden’s Sacrifice could remember that it is part of the Harlem Renaissance art movement. Since there was no guarantee that these facts would be raised in student-directed discussions, and because students had no particular reason for remembering these details (there was no test or grade associated with the tours), it is impressive that they could recall historical and sociological information at such high rates.

These results suggest that art could be an important tool for effectively conveying traditional academic content, but this analysis cannot prove it. The control-group performance was hardly better than chance in identifying factual information about these paintings, but they never had the opportunity to learn the material. The high rate of recall of factual information by students who toured the museum demonstrates that the tours made an impression. The students could remember important details about what they saw and discussed.

Critical Thinking. Beyond recalling the details of their tour, did a visit to an art museum have a significant effect on students? Our study demonstrates that it did. For example, students randomly assigned to receive a school tour of Crystal Bridges later displayed demonstrably stronger ability to think critically about art than the control group.

During the first semester of the study, we showed all 3rd- through 12th-grade students a painting they had not previously seen, Bo Bartlett’s The Box . We then asked students to write short essays in response to two questions: What do you think is going on in this painting? And, what do you see that makes you think that? These are standard prompts used by museum educators to spark discussion during school tours.

We stripped the essays of all identifying information and had two coders rate the compositions using a seven-item rubric for measuring critical thinking that was developed by researchers at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The measure is based on the number of instances that students engaged in the following in their essays: observing, interpreting, evaluating, associating, problem finding, comparing, and flexible thinking. Our measure of critical thinking is the sum of the counts of these seven items. In total, our research team blindly scored 3,811 essays. For 750 of those essays, two researchers scored them independently. The scores they assigned to the same essay were very similar, demonstrating that we were able to measure critical thinking about art with a high degree of inter-coder reliability.

We express the impact of a school tour of Crystal Bridges on critical-thinking skills in terms of standard-deviation effect sizes. Overall, we find that students assigned by lottery to a tour of the museum improve their ability to think critically about art by 9 percent of a standard deviation relative to the control group. The benefit for disadvantaged groups is considerably larger (see Figure 1). Rural students, who live in towns with fewer than 10,000 people, experience an increase in critical-thinking skills of nearly one-third of a standard deviation. Students from high-poverty schools (those where more than 50 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunches) experience an 18 percent effect-size improvement in critical thinking about art, as do minority students.

A large amount of the gain in critical-thinking skills stems from an increase in the number of observations that students made in their essays. Students who went on a tour became more observant, noticing and describing more details in an image. Being observant and paying attention to detail is an important and highly useful skill that students learn when they study and discuss works of art. Additional research is required to determine if the gains in critical thinking when analyzing a work of art would transfer into improved critical thinking about other, non-art-related subjects.

Historical Empathy. Tours of art museums also affect students’ values. Visiting an art museum exposes students to a diversity of ideas, peoples, places, and time periods. That broadening experience imparts greater appreciation and understanding. We see the effects in significantly higher historical empathy and tolerance measures among students randomly assigned to a school tour of Crystal Bridges.

Historical empathy is the ability to understand and appreciate what life was like for people who lived in a different time and place. This is a central purpose of teaching history, as it provides students with a clearer perspective about their own time and place. To measure historical empathy, we included three statements on the survey with which students could express their level of agreement or disagreement: 1) I have a good understanding of how early Americans thought and felt; 2) I can imagine what life was like for people 100 years ago; and 3) When looking at a painting that shows people, I try to imagine what those people are thinking. We combined these items into a scale measuring historical empathy.

Students who went on a tour of Crystal Bridges experience a 6 percent of a standard deviation increase in historical empathy. Among rural students, the benefit is much larger, a 15 percent of a standard deviation gain. We can illustrate this benefit by focusing on one of the items in the historical empathy scale. When asked to agree or disagree with the statement, “I have a good understanding of how early Americans thought and felt,” 70 percent of the treatment-group students express agreement compared to 66 percent of the control group. Among rural participants, 69 percent of the treatment-group students agree with this statement compared to 62 percent of the control group. The fact that Crystal Bridges features art from different periods in American history may have helped produce these gains in historical empathy.

Tolerance. To measure tolerance we included four statements on the survey to which students could express their level of agreement or disagreement: 1) People who disagree with my point of view bother me; 2) Artists whose work is critical of America should not be allowed to have their work shown in art museums; 3) I appreciate hearing views different from my own; and 4) I think people can have different opinions about the same thing. We combined these items into a scale measuring the general effect of the tour on tolerance.

Overall, receiving a school tour of an art museum increases student tolerance by 7 percent of a standard deviation. As with critical thinking, the benefits are much larger for students in disadvantaged groups. Rural students who visited Crystal Bridges experience a 13 percent of a standard deviation improvement in tolerance. For students at high-poverty schools, the benefit is 9 percent of a standard deviation.

The improvement in tolerance for students who went on a tour of Crystal Bridges can be illustrated by the responses to one of the items within the tolerance scale. When asked about the statement, “Artists whose work is critical of America should not be allowed to have their work shown in art museums,” 35 percent of the control-group students express agreement. But for students randomly assigned to receive a school tour of the art museum, only 32 percent agree with censoring art critical of America. Among rural students, 34 percent of the control group would censor art compared to 30 percent for the treatment group. In high-poverty schools, 37 percent of the control-group students would censor compared to 32 percent of the treatment-group students. These differences are not huge, but neither is the intervention. These changes represent the realistic improvement in tolerance that results from a half-day experience at an art museum.

Interest in Art Museums. Perhaps the most important outcome of a school tour is whether it cultivates an interest among students in returning to cultural institutions in the future. If visiting a museum helps improve critical thinking, historical empathy, tolerance, and other outcomes not measured in this study, then those benefits would compound for students if they were more likely to frequent similar cultural institutions throughout their life. The direct effects of a single visit are necessarily modest and may not persist, but if school tours help students become regular museum visitors, they may enjoy a lifetime of enhanced critical thinking, tolerance, and historical empathy.

We measured how school tours of Crystal Bridges develop in students an interest in visiting art museums in two ways: with survey items and a behavioral measure. We included a series of items in the survey designed to gauge student interest:

• I plan to visit art museums when I am an adult.

• I would tell my friends they should visit an art museum.

• Trips to art museums are interesting.

• Trips to art museums are fun.

• Would your friend like to go to an art museum on a field trip?

• Would you like more museums in your community?

• How interested are you in visiting art museums?

• If your friends or family wanted to go to an art museum, how interested would you be in going?

Interest in visiting art museums among students who toured the museum is 8 percent of a standard deviation higher than that in the randomized control group. Among rural students, the increase is much larger: 22 percent of a standard deviation. Students at high-poverty schools score 11 percent of a standard deviation higher on the cultural consumer scale if they were randomly assigned to tour the museum. And minority students gain 10 percent of a standard deviation in their desire to be art consumers.

One of the eight items in the art consumer scale asked students to express the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with the statement, “I would tell my friends they should visit an art museum.” For all students who received a tour, 70 percent agree with this statement, compared to 66 percent in the control group. Among rural participants, 73 percent of the treatment-group students agree versus 63 percent of the control group. In high-poverty schools, 74 percent would recommend art museums to their friends compared to 68 percent of the control group. And among minority students, 72 percent of those who received a tour would tell their friends to visit an art museum, relative to 67 percent of the control group. Students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are more likely to have positive feelings about visiting museums if they receive a school tour.

We also measured whether students are more likely to visit Crystal Bridges in the future if they received a school tour. All students who participated in the study during the first semester, including those who did not receive a tour, were provided with a coupon that gave them and their families free entry to a special exhibit at Crystal Bridges. The coupons were coded so that we could determine the applicant group to which students belonged. Students had as long as six months after receipt of the coupon to use it.

We collected all redeemed coupons and were able to calculate how many adults and youths were admitted. Though students in the treatment group received 49 percent of all coupons that were distributed, 58 percent of the people admitted to the special exhibit with those coupons came from the treatment group. In other words, the families of students who received a tour were 18 percent more likely to return to the museum than we would expect if their rate of coupon use was the same as their share of distributed coupons.

This is particularly impressive given that the treatment-group students had recently visited the museum. Their desire to visit a museum might have been satiated, while the control group might have been curious to visit Crystal Bridges for the first time. Despite having recently been to the museum, students who received a school tour came back at higher rates. Receiving a school tour cultivates a taste for visiting art museums, and perhaps for sharing the experience with others.

Disadvantaged Students

One consistent pattern in our results is that the benefits of a school tour are generally much larger for students from less-advantaged backgrounds. Students from rural areas and high-poverty schools, as well as minority students, typically show gains that are two to three times larger than those of the total sample. Disadvantaged students assigned by lottery to receive a school tour of an art museum make exceptionally large gains in critical thinking, historical empathy, tolerance, and becoming art consumers.

It appears that the less prior exposure to culturally enriching experiences students have, the larger the benefit of receiving a school tour of a museum. We have some direct measures to support this explanation. To isolate the effect of the first time visiting the museum, we truncated our sample to include only control-group students who had never visited Crystal Bridges and treatment-group students who had visited for the first time during their tour. The effect for this first visit is roughly twice as large as that for the overall sample, just as it is for disadvantaged students.

In addition, we administered a different version of our survey to students in kindergarten through 2nd grade. Very young students are less likely to have had previous exposure to culturally enriching experiences. Very young students make exceptionally large improvements in the observed outcomes, just like disadvantaged students and first-time visitors.

When we examine effects for subgroups of advantaged students, we typically find much smaller or null effects. Students from large towns and low-poverty schools experience few significant gains from their school tour of an art museum. If schools do not provide culturally enriching experiences for these students, their families are likely to have the inclination and ability to provide those experiences on their own. But the families of disadvantaged students are less likely to substitute their own efforts when schools do not offer culturally enriching experiences. Disadvantaged students need their schools to take them on enriching field trips if they are likely to have these experiences at all.

Policy Implications

School field trips to cultural institutions have notable benefits. Students randomly assigned to receive a school tour of an art museum experience improvements in their knowledge of and ability to think critically about art, display stronger historical empathy, develop higher tolerance, and are more likely to visit such cultural institutions as art museums in the future. If schools cut field trips or switch to “reward” trips that visit less-enriching destinations, then these important educational opportunities are lost. It is particularly important that schools serving disadvantaged students provide culturally enriching field trip experiences.

This first-ever, large-scale, random-assignment experiment of the effects of school tours of an art museum should help inform the thinking of school administrators, educators, policymakers, and philanthropists. Policymakers should consider these results when deciding whether schools have sufficient resources and appropriate policy guidance to take their students on tours of cultural institutions. School administrators should give thought to these results when deciding whether to use their resources and time for these tours. And philanthropists should weigh these results when deciding whether to build and maintain these cultural institutions with quality educational programs. We don’t just want our children to acquire work skills from their education; we also want them to develop into civilized people who appreciate the breadth of human accomplishments. The school field trip is an important tool for meeting this goal.

Jay P. Greene is professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas, where Brian Kisida is a senior research associate and Daniel H. Bowen is a doctoral student.

Additional materials, including a supplemental study and a methodological appendix , are available.

For more, please see “ The Top 20 Education Next Articles of 2023 .”

This article appeared in the Winter 2014 issue of Education Next . Suggested citation format:

Greene, J.P., Kisida, B., and Bowen, D.H. (2014). The Educational Value of Field Trips: Taking students to an art museum improves critical thinking skills, and more . Education Next , 14(1), 78-86.

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260+ Field Trip Ideas for Grades Pre-K Through 12 (In-Person and Virtual)

Get out of the classroom and explore the world!

Field trips are a quintessential school experience. You usually only get one or two a year so it’s important to do it right! Our roundups of unique field trip ideas have something for every age, subject, and interest. We’ve even got resources like permission slip forms and chaperone tips. Get ready to leave the classroom behind to take learning on the road!

Preschool Field Trip Ideas

Early-grade field trips help kids learn about the world and also teach them good field trip behavior. These are our top picks for the pre-K crowd, but many of the options on our kindergarten list are perfect for this age group too.

• Library: Not every student’s parents take them to story time. Schedule your own trip, and show kids that having fun isn’t hard when you have a library card!
• Farm: Whether you learn how vegetables are grown or where milk and eggs come from, the farm is always a hit.
• Grocery store: Go behind the scenes at the supermarket, and use this trip as the foundation for lessons on healthy eating.
• Park: From local playgrounds to majestic national parks, it’s always worth getting kids into the great outdoors.
• Children’s museum: This is the age group most children’s museums were designed for! They’ll love all the hands-on fun and excitement.
• Post office: Learn how mail is sorted and shipped, and teach students about stamps and other mail-related items.
• Bank: Money is a new concept for these kiddos, and they’ll be fascinated to step inside the vault and learn other bank secrets.
• Fire station: There’s just something about a fire truck that gets every little one excited.
• Nursing home: Is there anything sweeter than watching seniors and wee ones spend time together?
• Animal shelter: For kids who don’t have pets at home, this can be a good introduction to animals. Others will just enjoy the time with dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes.

Elementary School Field Trip Ideas

@mjdstoronto

These are the prime field trip years! Here are our favorite trips for every grade.

• 14 Kindergarten Field Trips (Virtual and In-Person)
• 15 First Grade Field Trips (Virtual and In-Person)
• 15 Second Grade Field Trips (Virtual and In-Person)
• 15 Third Grade Field Trips (Virtual and In-Person)
• 23 Fourth Grade Field Trips (Virtual and In-Person)
• 22 Fifth Grade Field Trips (Virtual and In-Person)

Middle and High School Field Trip Ideas

@salinasvalleybasingsa

For this age group, you’ll need to step up your game a bit. (They’ve probably already been to the zoo, the aquarium, and the art museum.) Try some of these locations, which offer educational, social-emotional, and real-life learning opportunities.

• Food bank: Hold a food drive, then arrange a trip to your local soup kitchen or food pantry. Volunteering makes for truly meaningful field trips.
• Recycling facility: In a time when reducing landfill waste is more important than ever, a trip to a recycling facility can help drive home the message.
• Theater: Many theaters offer behind-the-scenes tours for schools and discount pricing when you buy tickets in bulk. (Want to go virtual? Check out the Hamilton Education Program !)
• Community college: Parents sometimes take kids on college visits, but a community college trip offers opportunities for even more students to see themselves getting a higher education.
• TV station: Kids interested in communications or technology will find this completely fascinating.
• Courtroom: There’s no better way to understand the justice system than to see it in action.
• State or county capitol: Every government class should visit a local capitol to meet with officials and see how the government works.
• Local business: This can be a cool way to learn about managing a business, working with customers, or discovering how products are made.
• Wildlife rehab facility: Introduce students to the people who help injured wild animals recover and live free once again.

Virtual Field Trip Ideas

@edtech_tusd

The terrific thing about virtual field trips is that they eliminate so much of the hassle. No need to collect permission slips, arrange for buses, or recruit chaperones. Plus, they’re usually free!

• 40 Amazing Educational Virtual Field Trips
• 20 Terrific Virtual Art Museum Field Trips
• 18 Incredible Virtual Zoo Field Trips
• 15 Fascinating Aquarium Virtual Field Trips
• 3 Science Virtual Field Trips Let Kids Travel the World

Field Trips by Location

If you live in one of these cities, check out some of our favorite spots.

• 16 Cool Field Trips in Houston, Texas
• 21 Terrific Field Trips in Chicago, Illinois
• Top 10 Washington D.C. Field Trip Ideas

Field Trip Tips and Resources

There’s a lot to do when you’re organizing an off-site field trip. These resources are here to help.

• Preparing Parent Chaperones for a Field Trip
• Free Printable Field Trip and School Permission Forms To Make Your Life Easier
• Things To Do Before Taking Your Students on a Major Field Trip
• Mistakes To Avoid When Planning a Field Trip for Students
• Why I Hate Field Trips (And How I Learned To Deal)
• Help! Is There Any Way I Can Get Out of Our End of the Year Field Trip?

Bonus: Looking for a laugh? Check out  Ways School Field Trips Are Like The Wizard of Oz !

What are your favorite field trip ideas? Come share your thoughts in the  We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook !

Plus,  virtual college campus tours to explore from home ..

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Ten tips for a successful field trip.

Planning a field trip to a national park near you? Here a 10 quick tips to help you and your students get the most out of your trip:

• Plan everything well in advance. Call to schedule the field trip or request an educational fee waiver, get a confirmation, and make necessary arrangements for school and parental permission and transportation. Plan the educational experiences and activities for the field trip. Know how to get to the field trip site, how long it will take, and where you will have lunch. Bring along any supplies and materials needed for activities that you have planned. Share this with all the teachers and chaperones involved.
• Use pre-visit activities to help prepare the students for the field trip. Make field trip planning a part of in-class learning.
• Develop clear learning objectives and share them! Make sure that the students and other teachers know these objectives.
• Chaperoning is not a spectator sport. Chaperones can be a big help if they understand their role.
• Give everyone nametags. Make sure that even the teachers and chaperones are wearing readable nametags. It also helps to divide large groups into smaller sub-groups before the trip and color code their name tags.
• Keep the students engaged. Encourage the students to participate in the activities but remember you are responsible for their behavior.
• Keep students accountable for learning. A field trip is not a day off from school! Did you accomplish the planned learning objectives?
• Encourage independent observation time. Constructive free time can help make the trip more memorable.
• Bring the experience back home. Use post-visit activities back in the classroom to make the field trip relevant and reinforce concepts.
• Use evaluations and sharing. Improvements can only be made through honest feedback and evaluation.

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Last updated: August 30, 2023

55 Simple and Memorable Field Trip Ideas

We all know that field trips are fun- we have all been there. But when you are on the side that you have to plan them, it becomes a bit less fun, and a lot more stressful. It does not really need to be, though, because there are so many fun things out there that your middle schoolers will love to do.

In this article, we will give you 29 excellent field trip ideas. And remember, these are just ideas- there are tons more out there! Get creative!

I don’t know what it is about the zoo, but there is just something about the zoo that makes it one of the best places on earth. And this is true for most ages, not just preschoolers. Running around, finding favorite animals, discovering new ones, and learning more about animals that may be endangered is so fun.

Your middle schoolers will think so, too. Many zoos offer free (or at least discounted) admission for field trips, as long as they’re booked in advance. ( Source )

2. Water Park

Visiting a water park is a great way to either say goodbye to warmer weather or to celebrate the return of it. The best thing about many water parks is that they have arcades too, so those who do not like swimming can just try to win the giant plushies and lava lamps that we all envied as children.

3. Art Museum

An art museum is a great way to infuse culture into middle schoolers. Most are old enough to know museum etiquette, and the museum can introduce them to so many different art styles, types of people, and countries. They may come out thinking about art in a completely different way.

4. State and National Parks

If you live by a state or national park, consider yourself incredibly lucky, and then go get in there! This is a great way to expose middle schoolers to nature, and it helps them to love the outdoors if they do not already. State and national parks are beautiful, and they give the perfect opportunity to teach about the importance of taking care of the environment!

5. Movie Theater

You can never go wrong with a movie. All kids like movies. As long as it’s rated G or PG, and you have parental approval, the employees will be ready with popcorn and drinks in excess for your middle schoolers to enjoy.

6. Aquarium

Like the zoo, it is impossible to go wrong with a trip to the aquarium. Many aquariums have rehabilitated animals, which presents a great opportunity to teach about the importance of picking up after ourselves, and not throwing trash in the ocean. It is never too early to help kids become environmentally conscious.

7. Botanical Gardens

Botanical gardens give the wonderful chance to be outside, and it provides a controlled environment to do so. They are beautifully landscaped, and they usually have pretty fountains and waterfalls that provide a really calming atmosphere.

An added bonus: it is easy to reinforce what your middle schoolers have been learning about plants in science classes with what you see!

8. An Actual Theatre

Exposing middle schoolers to the arts should be considered an essential part of their education. And, what’s more, going to plays just makes kids feel mature and important. Maybe it is just because of the way the phrase “going to the theatre” sounds when someone says it with a British accent. If that wasn’t enough, then the fact that education in fine arts is proven to increase students’ self-confidence, self-understanding, communication skills, and cognitive abilities. ( Source )

9. Go on a Hike

This is a good field trip for many reasons. Exercising is an important thing to get in the habit of at a young age, and nature is something that everyone should appreciate. And, as if that was not enough, learning about rocks and rock formations is fascinating, too. This is a great way to combine what you’re teaching in class with what the kids are experiencing in real life.

10. Planetarium

The planetarium is another one of those places that are impossible for someone to not enjoy, even if they are starting to act more and more like a teenager. Besides, middle schoolers will understand the concepts and words used at the planetarium a lot better than elementary schoolers would.

11. Local High School

If there is one thing middle schoolers love, it is that they are going to be in high school soon. Take advantage of that! Take them to high school productions of plays, on tours of the high school they will be going to, and to other high school concerts and athletic events.

12. Local Colleges

While college is still far off for middle schoolers, it’s never too early to give them a good impression of college. Communicate how important a college education can be, and do not forget to mention how fun college life is, either. Get them excited about college before the application process rolls around. The best part about this trip: it’s free!

13. Library

Going to the local library is always a good idea. There is so much to learn (Dewey Decimal System, anybody?), and it is a great way to encourage kids to read. Making this trip coincide with a book report project or readathon might help them to check out books, too!

14. Government Buildings

A government building may be fun to tour. This includes things like the state Capitol building, or maybe even a local government office. There are often tours of the bigger buildings, and these are great opportunities to help students learn more about the government system in our country.

15. Local Festivals

Taking your middle schoolers to local festivals is another great field trip idea. Every town has some sort of interesting festival that they are known for. Take advantage of teaching the kids about the history of their town! Some examples are music festivals, farmers’ markets, local races, and holiday events.

16. Railroad

Local railroads may be hard to come by, but if you are lucky enough to have one in your area, they have tons of history. In addition to this, taking train rides is so much fun. Middle schoolers will love learning about the history of the railroad, taking a ride, and let’s be honest- the concessions on the train will help, too.

17. Local Factories

Going to local factories or businesses is another really great opportunity for middle schoolers. Exposing them to how things work is a great way to help them on the path toward finding out what they want to do in their life. When they see how many types of businesses work, they can better figure out what they like and what they don’t.

18. Amusement Park

Amusement parks are tons of fun. That said, they do require a bit more effort as a field trip. Especially if you are a public school teacher taking 20-30 kids with you, you will need chaperones, permission slips, and plenty of focus, because middle schoolers can wander off.

19. Just a Regular Park

This one is almost effortless, and it is still so much fun. Going to a park, sitting in nature, having a picnic, and then just playing exploring is so good for kids. Getting that time to just relieve stress is key to creating a balanced lifestyle for middle schoolers.

20. Historical Monuments

Historical monuments are there for a reason. They exist to teach us about the people and events that came before us. So why not introduce your middle schoolers to these amazing monuments? They are beautifully built, and being in a historical spot to learn about something that happened before is such a cool experience. What if there is not a monument in your town? There probably is, but if not, a neighboring town will definitely have one.

Caving is such a blast. If you live near a cave, taking middle school students caving would be a fantastic field trip. Before you go, make sure you check the difficulty level of the cave, so that everybody can participate. This is a great way to either introduce or just reinforce what students are learning about rocks, erosion, weathering, and more.

22. Historical Buildings, Homes, or other Sites

This is a great way to learn about specific people that may have had a huge influence on your town, organizations that shaped how your town functioned, or just other historical events that may have caused your town to be built in the first place.

Middle schoolers will love seeing places that appear in books they have read or movies they have seen, and if they are not familiar, they will just enjoy seeing the collection of old things.

23. Local Fire Station

Visiting the local fire station would be a very fun field trip for those who have dreams of being a fireman, but it will also be fun for those who don’t. Kids find it fascinating to learn about the process of it all: seeing the fire station, the fire trucks, and asking the firemen what their typical day looks like is a great way to get them engaged.

24. Local Police Station

It’s the same for the local police station. Not only will kids learn a lot about the government and what police do, but they’ll also learn that they don’t have to be afraid of all police officers. This is a great way to help middle schoolers become more comfortable around police and other emergency personnel. In addition to this, seeing the inside of a police officer’s car is sure to keep middle schoolers occupied: there’s a lot there!

25. Pottery Studio

There are several commercial pottery studios sprinkled around the country that anybody can use. So why not make a field trip out of it? Middle schoolers love working with their hands, and one thing that always makes field trips extra special is a souvenir that they can take home at the end of the day.

26. Fish Hatchery

If you live near a fish hatchery, this would be a really interesting field trip for middle schoolers. It does smell weird, but kids will love seeing the process that they go through in the hatchery. They will get to see a couple of different kinds of fish, and this field trip also gives the added benefit of some outdoor time.

27. Aviation Museum

An aviation museum is another excellent idea for a field trip for middle schoolers. Even if some students are not obsessed with planes and vehicles, the things that one can see at an aviation museum are undeniably fascinating.

Students will get to see several different types of planes, learn about famous pilots and wars, maybe see a rocket, and learn how aviation has changed since it first came into practice.

28. Local Power Plant, Dam, or Locks

This is another information-filled field trip. Though many dams and locks may not have tours, they usually have plenty of signs with blurbs to read that will provide for a lovely, self-guided tour. A lot of power plants will offer tours, though. In these places, middle schoolers will learn so much about modern technology, how things are powered, and more.

29. A Walking Tour of Your Town or City

Obviously, if you live in a big city, this may not be the safest idea, but if you feel you can conduct a safe walking tour of your town or city, do it! Even if they have lived in the town or city for a long time, many middle schoolers may still learn something about the town, and they may find something new to do. Pick a few destinations beforehand so that you can show your students the best-kept secrets of your city.

Remember that these ideas only scratch the surface of possibilities for fun field trips for middle schoolers. Students will appreciate any effort to add variety to their learning, so get creative!

30. Farmers Market

The Farmer’s Market is a great way for students to become involved in the community. Beforehand you can teach them about farming and how important it is to support your local farmers. Then you can take them to the market and let them pick something out or learn about all of the different produce. There are also sometimes animals there that they can pet.

Many communities host Farmer’s markets on Saturdays, so you might need to find out if your local farmer’s market takes place during the week!

31. Animal Shelter

The Animal Shelter is an awesome field trip not only for the kids but for the dogs and cats as well. The animals in animal shelters have often been neglected and abused. All they want is some love, which the kids will gladly give. It may inspire some families to adopt and give the animals a loving home.

32. Recycling Center

Learning about recycling is important. Visiting a Recycling Center might not be the most entertaining for the kids, but they will learn a valuable lesson about the importance of recycling and why we do it. They will also learn how to recycle and what can be reused, from plastic to paper to clothes.

33. A Hospital, Clinic, Dentist’s Office, etc

It is always a great idea to take the children to certain places where they can learn about different professions and what they could be when they grow up. Some kids may be scared of the hospital or doctor, but this way they can learn that doctors and nurses are here to help them.

If you can’t get the hospital to offer a tour, consider a tour of just any local clinic of a medical professional. Perhaps even a parent of a student in the class could offer a tour so that kids can learn about different professions.

Going to the bank may not sound the most fun to elementary school students, but they can learn important information that isn’t being fully taught in schools. Kids can go behind the scenes and possibly get a tour of the vault as well as learn how to write a check and what the purpose of a credit card is.

35. News, TV, or Radio Station

These field trips are fascinating because you can see the behind-the-scenes of the studio that the online viewers or listeners don’t get to see. The children will love to see the cameras and recording equipment, maybe even meet the people that their parents watch on TV every morning. Some kids could decide that this is the career path they want to move towards. The world always needs people to tell stories and report on what’s happening.

36. Local Business

It’s always important to highlight and remember local businesses. Local business owners would love to give back to the community by giving a tour to the students, inspiring them to chase their dreams. You never know which field trip is going to spark interest and help a kid decide what they want to be someday.

37. Restaurant or Bakery

Going to a restaurant or local bakery is something that children will love because they can get a behind-the-scenes tour, as well as some sampling of the food or treats. It will probably end up being one of their favorites since food is involved. Many local businesses will offer tours free of charge. ( Source )

38. Senior Care Facility

Taking the elementary school students to a retirement home is a great opportunity to teach them about the importance of service and learning from their elders. Children can oftentimes be egotistic because their brains aren’t fully developed. Volunteering is a great way to teach them compassion and kindness, and it will make the residents’ day as well.

39. Sporting Game

Sporting games are purely an entertaining field trip, and the students will be very excited. Most areas in the United States have a sports team, but even if you don’t live near a major city, you can find some minor league teams as well. Taking the students to a baseball or soccer game is probably the most common sport for a field trip. ( Source )

40. Theatre

Going to a theatre to see a play is also very exciting and entertaining. Communities almost always have a local theatre putting on a play for all ages to enjoy. You could even take the students to a play at the middle school or high school in the area. Make sure to pick an age-friendly play that they are willing to sit through for a few hours since young kids have a hard time sitting for long periods of time.

Going to the movies is a great indoor winter activity and very exciting for the children. It can get expensive, but there are also oftentimes group rate discounts, especially for schools. Maybe the movie field trip can be at the end of a big test as a reward. Don’t forget to get popcorn!

42. Orchestra

Going to the symphony or orchestra is a very special experience that not every child would normally experience. Classical music is very healthy for the brain. These days, everybody wants to listen to recorded music, but it’s important to instill a love of live music in the newer generations as well.

43. Pumpkin Patch

Fall is always a fun time of the year, and there are so many activities to do! This includes going to the pumpkin patch. Oftentimes, pumpkin patches not only have pumpkins to pick out and carve, but hayrides, mazes, and fun foods to try. My favorite pumpkin patch treats as a kid were apple cider donuts.

Picnics are easy and simple, probably costing zero dollars to the budget. All you have to do is make sure that every student brings a lunch from home and a blanket to sit on. Then all you have to do is take the class outside, set up the blankets, and they can sit with their friends and eat their lunch. Field Trips don’t always have to be big and extravagant.

45. Waterpark

The waterpark could be a great end-of-the-year activity since it needs to be warmer weather to go swimming. This field trip idea would probably need the most organizing, but it will be much worth it when it all comes together and you can celebrate the year together with students, parents, and teachers. This activity is recommended for older elementary school students that know how to swim.

There are endless opportunities for elementary school field trips! These young students are excited and curious about everything. Many of these places are free of charge and are happy to give a tour or experience to the students. Just make sure to plan everything out in advance and find enough chaperones to supervise the kids alongside the teachers. Good Luck! ( Source )

46. Explore a Local Recreation Center

Another great local resource that students can explore is a local recreation center. Finding and understanding available resources in the community is an important skill for kids as they transition to adulthood. A field trip to a recreation center can also emphasize the importance of health and lifelong physical activity to students as they begin to have more control over their lives.

47. Volunteer at a Food Pantry

Field trip education can be about more than just the sciences; giving high school students opportunities to serve in the community can be an important way for young adults to build character.

Many local food pantries would welcome the assistance of a large group of high school students. Taking a field trip day to volunteer at a local food pantry can help students understand more about supply chain management, while simultaneously helping them to build empathy.

48. Visit a Technology Company/Area

Technology is another area experiencing lots of growth. Helping to expose more students to areas like this can help give them direction when they may have none, and can also help fill a societal need.

If possible, arrange for students to take a field trip to a local software company where they can have opportunities to see the background processes of coding, system networks, and other tech phenomena. Showing students something like a server room, or cable management practices could be beneficial as well!

49. Visit the Capitol or Other Government Building

Whether it’s for History class, Political Science, or just to increase students’ social understanding, taking students to visit a capitol building or other government building can be both interesting and thought-provoking. This can be beneficial for all students as citizens, whether they are interested in pursuing education or careers in government or not.

50. Plan a College Visit

With students looking to the future, being able to get them on a university campus can be extremely helpful in guiding them in their decisions. Planning to visit a campus—or multiple campuses—could be a beneficial experience, especially for those on the fence about going.

Many colleges love to welcome high school students for campus visits and tours. Additionally, students may feel more comfortable being able to do a visit with friends and other peers with similar interests. Since Juniors will be thinking about which colleges to apply to, plan these trips preferably during students’ Junior year!

51. Plan a Photography Trip

With the invention of smartphones, and the popularity of Instagram, all students like to be both the photographer and the model. You can provide a field trip for them by taking them somewhere unique to take pictures and teaching them about principles of good photography, like lighting, balance, and the rule of thirds!

Alternatively, you could take them to a studio and allow them to take portraits or shoot other professional pieces, such as jewelry.

52. Plan a Painting Trip

For your more artsy individuals, you could consider planning a day trip to somewhere scenic where they could practice their painting skills. They could practice landscapes, nature scenes, or even portraits in nature.

53. Plan a Geological Trip

Another trip that could be fun is a trip to a location of geological significance. This could be something visual, such as being able to identify different strata on the side of a mountain, or something more tactile, like digging in an area for pieces of archeological or historical significance. It could even be something as simple as comparing rocks and their features depending on the area in which they’re found.

54. Do a Service Project Using Just Serve

We mentioned service in some of the above ideas (food pantry or homeless shelter), but you could also consider planning your own service project! Whether that’s planting trees locally, visiting an old folks’ home to visit with the residents there, or picking up trash.

There’s actually a great free website called Just Serve that allows you to quickly find service project needs for local non-profits. You could probably find something easy.

Allowing students to plan and prepare their own service activity can get them more engaged and help them feel like they can make a difference themselves.

55. Visit an Escape Room — or Any Activity Just for Fun!

Finally, we’d encourage you to be okay with some field trips being just for fun. Let your students go to an escape room, an amusement park, or a pool just for fun. Students need a break sometimes too!

Field Trips: Pros and Cons

Off-campus excursions can enhance learning, but they pose challenges

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Are field trips worth all the time and effort required to make them successful? Most teachers have asked themselves this question at one time or another, typically when feeling overwhelmed as they prepare for a field trip. The truth is that field trips at any grade level can cause quite a few headaches for teachers. At the same time, well-planned field trips can provide students with truly educational experiences they cannot get in the confines of the classroom. Following is a look at the pros and cons of field trips.

Benefits of Field Trips

Field trips provide students with new opportunities for learning through experience:

Different Learning Modalities

Information is presented to students in a way that meets different learning modalities. Field trips provide students with the ability to learn by doing instead of just passively listening to the information being taught in class. 

Students are exposed to new experiences that, hopefully, broaden their horizons. This can be especially helpful for students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds who may not have been exposed to these opportunities before. 

Reinforcing Concepts

Concepts that have already been learned in the classroom can be reinforced. Sometimes seeing information being taught in a new way can make a big difference in student comprehension. There is quite a difference between being taught about something like hurricanes and wind speed and experiencing them in an exhibit at a science museum. 

Shared Reference

Students are provided with shared reference points that teachers can then refer to and use in future lessons. There may be an opportunity to have two or more disciplines use a field trip as an enrichment activity. For example, a trip to an art museum (art) may couple with a timeline for social studies (political systems in place when art was created) or math (measurements) can combine with science in a biosystem (river, beach, and meadow). In this manner, several teachers can then refer to things that students saw and experienced during the field trip for the remainder of the school year. 

Increased Student-Teacher Communication

Students and teachers can see each other in a different light, helping to increase communication between them. Some students who might be overlooked in class because they are quiet might really come alive on field trips. 

If parents are involved as chaperones, they can feel more connected to the teacher and the lessons being taught. They can get to know the teacher better and understand what teachers deal with daily.

Meeting Standards

Standards in social studies and science  require students to have experiences related to concepts in the discipline. In social studies, students are required to take informed action. In science, students need to be exposed to a series of concepts to help them to better understand the world around them. Field trips help teachers meet these objectives.

Problems With Field Trips

Teachers face a number of concerns and challenges when designing field trips that they need to recognize and address before planning a field trip.

Preparation Needed

Field trips take preparation if teachers want to make them meaningful. They have to coordinate locations and transportation. They also need to create an effective lesson plan that they will follow when on the excursion.

Students will be out of the school building for a field trip, which means they will miss other classes—at least in middle and high school. If each core subject area (ELA, math science, or social studies) offers one field trip during a school year, students would be out of the building for four days. School attendance policies may count these as excused absences, but any field trip that removes students from class reduces the number of classroom hours. 

Trips Can Be Costly

Field trips can be expensive, and some students may not have the funds to attend. Organizers of the field trip may consider asking for parents to add a few dollars to help students in need. School boosters may need to host a fundraiser for students to raise money for more expensive trips.

Teachers have to organize the collection of money and the assigning of chaperones. Teachers need to spend some time creating student groups that work for all students and ensuring that chaperones are assigned accordingly. 

Teachers will likely have to deal with red tape as they plan field trips including permission slips, medical information, and emergency procedures. Schools typically require paperwork from teachers and their students. 

Potential Discipline Problems

Students will be placed in a larger environment than the classroom. New surroundings could possibly lead to additional discipline problems. Because teachers typically only lead a small group (such as 30 to 40 students), they may not be able to maintain control over the behavior of every student on the field trip, especially if the group is large. Teachers should go over rules and expectations before the field trip, enforce the rules strictly while away from school grounds, and create effective consequences for misbehavior. 

May Be Disappointing

The field trip destination might not live up to the teacher's expectations. The location might not be as interesting as the teacher thought it would be. The time to complete the field trip might be considerably less than was expected. Therefore, it is a good idea to have some contingency plan in mind just in case.

There may be students who, for one reason or another, will not attend the field trip. Teachers must leave lessons, usually enrichment offerings, that mirror some of the concepts being experienced on the field trip.

Requesting Feedback

One of the best ways to measure the success of a field trip (other than returning all students back to the school) is to ask for feedback. Teachers can post a survey for participants and for other chaperones asking them to express how they would evaluate the trip.

Opportunity to Reflect

Students should have the opportunity to reflect on the trip and write a response in a journal or essay. Requiring journal responses after the trip can solidify the information learned as students reflect on their new experiences. Asking students to write a thank you to the school principal for allowing the trip may even smooth the path to additional field trips. 

Worth the Difficulties

Many teachers feel that well-chosen field trip destinations are worth the difficulties they may create. The key is taking the time to plan each aspect as much as possible. Teachers should be proactive when thinking about and planning field trips. Students, on the other hand, may remember the experience of the school field trip as a highlight of the school year, and the time they learned more than anything taught in class.

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Zoo Animal Field Trips

See animals from zoos and aquariums go on wild adventures.

Visitors to zoos and aquariums are staying home right now to prevent coronavirus from spreading. While the human guests are away, some animals are stepping outside their enclosures to meet their wild neighbors or visit new places. Adventures like these are enrichment for the animals—a way to keep their brains and bodies active—and entertainment for people watching from home. Click through the gallery to see some super-cute animal meetups.

more photos and fun

5 reasons why, weird but true, wacky weekend.

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One of the interesting facts about traveling with your family is that travel, by its very nature , is an educational experience. Essentially, any trip that you take with your family has the potential to be a Family Field Trip!

However, to get the most educational bang for your buck, it helps to be prepared. One way that I’ve found particularly helpful in that regard is to put my different trips into specific categories of field trips. This helps my family to think through our expectations for the trip and helps us to focus on learning the lessons in front of us, whether that means paying extra special attention to the geology of an area during our hike or asking questions about how specific flavor profiles found their way there .

Of course, categories are just starting points that can give your travel a little focus. The best learning experiences almost always end up being filled with surprise lessons that none of us saw coming!

That said, these are the categories that I’m currently using to classify my family’s field trips. Pick a topic that interests you, read up on our experiences with that type of field trip, and go have some educational adventures of your own!

Nature-Focused Field Trips

Nature-focused categories include any field trips that focus on exploring and learning about nature and our place in it. These trips include trips dealing with animals and fossils, hiking or camping trips, gazing at the stars, learning about rocks, or anything else that looks at the way our world works!

Astronomical

Astronomical Field trips are all about exploring the wonders outside of the earth! It could be visiting an observatory, looking for constellations in your own backyard, or just marveling at a clear night sky. No matter which, space has a lot to offer.

Botanical trips are all about the plants we find in nature. Marvel at the size of mighty redwoods, discover the desert adaptations of different kinds of cactus, or take a whiff of the *interesting* smell of the corpse flower. These are botanical field trips.

Geological trips focus on the ground beneath us. Explore geothermal heat at a hot spring, check out stalactites in a cave, or become a paleontologist looking for dinosaur fossils. It’s all geology!

Zoologic trips focus on the wide variety of animal life out there. Yes, it could be a trip to the zoo, but it could also be birdwatching in the forest, visiting a prairie dog town, or volunteering at a rescue center!

Ecological trips is my “catch-all” for other nature-focused trips that might not fall into another category. Camping, hiking, waterfall-hunting, and more all fall into this category.

People-Focused Field Trips

Culture Field Trips are about the ways that humans have found to express themselves around the world. Art and architecture, food and the very foundations of our modern societies are all up for examination here. Wherever there are people, there’s something to be learned about how we interact with each other and with the world around us.

Agricultural Trips

Agricultural field trips deal with farms and the production of our foods! Farm trips, mushroom foraging, fisheries, and more are all trips dealing with how humans produce and gather our food, and all count as agricultural field trips.

Architectural Trips

The main focus of an architectural field trip is the beauty and grandeur of more modern buildings and monuments. This could include a trip to well-known places like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, or it could be a walk around a new city to admire the local buildings.

Archaeological Trips

Archaeology is all about the things that humans have left behind and what they tell us about our past. Field trips in this category include trips to see ancient ruins or amazing artifacts.

Historical Trips

Historical field trips help teach about the way things were in the past. Historical battlefields and memorials, living history exhibits, and historic houses are all great examples of this kind of trip.

Gastronomical Trips

These trips are all about exploring the wide world of food! Whether it’s a cooking class, eating a traditional meal, or searching a farmer’s market for something new to try, gastronomical field trips are often a hit with the whole family.

Cultural Trips

I consider this to be my catch-all category for other people-focused experiences. Culture trips are all about the ways humans interact with one another and could be anything from exploring local economies and traditions to figuring out how your local government functions.

Museum Trips

A trip to a museum can be an excellent way to learn about all sorts of different topics, but since the main focus is usually learning by looking instead of learning by doing, I tend to set them in their own category of trips. Whether it’s art, science, or history, my family loves museum trips, and we tend to sprinkle them liberally throughout our other travels.

Culture and Art Museums

Culture and Art museums are museums that focus on the things that humans create. Museums displaying sculptures, paintings, photography, and more all fall into this category, but so do museums looking at the things that make up a culture, like movies and props from pop culture.

History and Archaeology Museums

History and archaeology museums focus on humanity’s past and the impact it has had on our present. These are the places where the discoveries that archaeologists make will typically end up, and there is typically a focus on learning about or trying to rediscover our past.

Nature and Science Museums

Nature and science museums focus on teaching visitors about the natural world. Displays in these museums will often contain things like dinosaur bones, collections of modern animals, or physics demonstrations. There will usually be a heavy emphasis on learning about the world around us today and making sure we preserve it for future generations.

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Maximizing the Educational Value of Field Trips

Here’s how to make the most of the field trip experience before, during and after the big day

By Courtney Lind

Educators, parents and students alike can agree: Field trips present invaluable opportunities for students to learn beyond the confines of the classroom. Putting the concepts of physics into practice at a science museum, viewing the events of history through reenactments at some of our country’s famous historical sites, or experiencing the works of the world’s most famous artists at incredible museums… the list goes on, and the possibilities are nearly endless when it comes to field trips.

The success of a field trip largely depends on how well it is planned and integrated into the curriculum. To ensure that field trips are not just fun outings (important as that may be) but also rich educational experiences, we’ve put together some field trip tips to help teachers prepare effectively and make the most out of the experience once students are back in the classroom.

TIPS FOR BEFORE A FIELD TRIP

A little planning can go a long way to making sure that the field trip isn’t a standalone day. We want the learning and experiences to stick with students for years to come.

Do Your Research: Before the trip, provide students with relevant background information about the destination, historical context or scientific concepts. This is your chance to get them excited about their field trip and the time they’ll spend outside the classroom. The more students know about their destination in advance, the more you can leverage that anticipation and turn it into active participation.

Set Clear Learning Objectives: Determine specific learning objectives aligned with the curriculum. What do you want students to take away from the field trip? What concepts have they covered in the classroom that they may encounter while out in the field? Are there any post-field trip activities where you may want to call back to their field trip experience? Clearly outline the knowledge and skills students will ideally gain from the experience and bring this with you on the trip to refer to as needed.

Pre-Trip Activities: Get students excited for their upcoming trip with pre-trip activities. These are designed to pique their interest and activate prior knowledge, while giving a sneak peek into what they can expect during their trip. This can include discussions, worksheets or short assignments related to the upcoming excursion. Be sure to check with your host or venue to see if they offer any pre-trip materials.

Safety and Logistics: Make time to go through important expectations and safety procedures with your students before the day of the trip and remind them again on the day of departure. Knowing critical logistics such as departure times, rules and emergency protocols will put everyone at ease. A well-informed group is more likely to remain focused and engaged throughout the trip.

FIELD TRIP TIPS WHILE TRAVELING

During the field trip itself, teachers play a crucial role in guiding students’ learning and fostering a positive experience. Whether you’re planning a self-guided trip or taking part in a more programmed experience, these tips will keep everyone on track.

Be an Engaging Facilitator: Actively participate in the trip, engaging students in discussions, asking thought-provoking questions and encouraging them to make connections with their prior knowledge. Call on your students’ strengths and guide them to understand links to what they’ve seen in the classroom.

Hands-On Learning: Encourage students to interact directly with exhibits, artifacts and the environment. You’re on a field trip, after all. This engaging style of learning promotes and reinforces key concepts that can then be taken back to the classroom. Students who fully engage their senses are more likely to retain what they’ve learned on the field trip — a win for everyone.

Take Notes and Pictures: Have students take notes or pictures during the trip. These activities can help students stay focused and will serve as useful references when discussing the experience back in the classroom. Have them bring along a favorite notebook or even incorporate a special ‘field trip journal making’ into your pre-trip activities.

Adapt to Unexpected Teachable Moments : Be flexible to seize unexpected teachable moments that may arise during the trip. It’s hard to control every variable when you’re out of the classroom in a new environment, and that’s okay. These spontaneous learning opportunities can be some of the most memorable and impactful for young minds. 

The best field trips start in the classroom with research, goal-setting and pre-trip activities. Photo courtesy Shutterstock images

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FIELD TRIP AFTERWARDS

The learning doesn’t end when the buses pull away. After all the hard work you’ve put into planning a field trip, you want to ensure the key concepts and takeaways from the day make their way back to the classroom (along with all the fun and memories).

Group Discussions: After the trip, hold group discussions to encourage students to share their experiences, insights and observations. As we’ve noted before, many field trip venues offer free materials to teachers to help guide discussions based on what students have experienced. Be sure to check if this is available or design your own discussion question to align with your desired learning outcomes.

Assign Reflection Tasks: Reflective writing tasks or projects encourage students to articulate what they learned, how the experience impacted them and how it connects to their studies. This is a great complement to group discussions as it allows everyone to reflect on the field trip in their own way. If you had students utilize notebooks during the field trip, this could be a perfect time to pull those out and continue writing.

Connect With Classroom Learning: Repetition can be a key to success, so try to integrate the field trip experience into subsequent lessons. Draw connections between the trip and the curriculum, reinforcing the new knowledge gained during the outing. Have students recall what they learned or did during the field trip, and how they have seen this at play in the classroom, or vice versa.

Evaluate Learning Outcomes: Assess students’ understanding of the trip’s objectives and the effectiveness of the experience. What reactions did you pick up from students before, during and after the field trip? Were students engaged and able to draw connections between classroom and field trip learning? This evaluation can inform future field trips and educational strategies. Depending on the age group, you can even incorporate feedback into the reflective exercises so that students can provide their thoughts and feelings on the experience.

Field trips can be powerful educational tools when properly planned and thoughtfully integrated into the curriculum. By setting clear objectives, preparing students beforehand, actively participating during the trip and following up with appropriate post-trip activities, teachers can ensure that these experiences leave a lasting impact on their students.

TOP PHOTO: Encourage and facilitate questions during your field trip, allowing enough time for thoughtful answers and thorough discussions. Photo courtesy Shutterstock images

There are still plenty of field trip ideas to read about in Student Travel Planning Guide, along with information for faculty to help plan student travel. Be sure to Subscribe to Student Travel Planning Guide magazine for FREE to learn more.

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59 Fun and Educational Field Trips

Annette Breedlove Leave a Comment This Post Contains Affiliate Links

One of the things I most looked forward to when we began homeschooling was taking educational field trips. I could literally plan a field trip (or two) every week and be happy.

However, I know that we do need to actually accomplish school work aside from field trips. I mean…looking at historical handwriting doesn’t exactly teach you how to write, ya know? Nevertheless, I have compiled a list of fun and educational field trips that can be added to any homeschool.

While I would love to take field trips every week, its simply not possible with our family schedule. So, I try to plan big field trips that will coincide with our studies and work in shorter, half-day (or less) field trips as we can do them.

So far, this has been a great way to not only add in some additional learning opportunities, but also give us some much needed breaks in our studies.

59 Fun and Educational Field Trips

• Zoo – Who doesn’t love a trip to the zoo! Be sure to print off some scavenger hunts or fun printables to take with you too. Click here to get some tips on making your zoo trip fun and educational (for kids AND teens) .
• Children’s and Science Museum – Science museums are a great way to let kids explore the world of science on their level, as well as do some fun, hands-on learning.
• State and National Parks – State and National parks are a not only a great way to see the country, but to learn more about nature and the history of a state/area.
• Nature Walks – Take a nature walk in your area to collect leaves, study trees or look for animal tracks.
• Aquarium – Aquariums are a wonderful way to explore the world of the ocean. Many aquariums offer hands-on activities for kids to learn and explore different types of aquatic life.
• Planetarium – Want to know what its like to be in space? Take a trip to the planetarium and learn more about the stars and our vast universe. Click here to get more tips on how to make astronomy fun to learn.
• Laboratory Tour – Some local laboratories may offer tours of their facilities where kids can learn about chemical reactions, pharmaceuticals and more.
• Arboretum – This is a great way to learn more about botany and the world of plants.
• Greenhouse – Learn more about how and why a greenhouse works by taking a tour.
• Camp Out – Take a camp out to learn more about building fires, cooking meals over an open fire and all of nature that surrounds you.
• Cave – Tour a cave to learn more about how they are formed and the different parts of a cave.
• Observatory – If you live near an observatory, it is a great way to see stars and planets on a greater scale.
• Lock & Dam – Most lock & dams may not have tours, but they do often have plaques around that tell you how things work and allow you to tour at your own pace.

History and Government

• Historical Site – Visit any historical sites in your area to learn more about your state and local community. Check out our photos of our adventure to Williamsburg .
• State Capitol Tour – Many states have a State Homeschool Day, when you can tour the state capitol and visit with your local representative. Take advantage of that opportunity to show your support for homeschooling and your representatives.
• Old Cemetary – It may seem a little creepy, but visiting an old cemetary can give quite a bit of historical background to your area. Take some grave rubbings to study later!
• Archaelogical sites – There are many archaelogical sites around the United States, most of which are Native American. Plan to visit them on a family vacation or as a day trip if you live close enough.
• Presidential birthplaces – This is one to put on your bucket-list. Visit some of the presidential birthplaces, as part of your U.S. History studies.
• Local Fire Station – A quick phone call to your local fire station will usually get you a tour. Be forewarned, they will leave you if they get a call.
• Local Police Station – Some police stations may offer tours of their facility and city jail, if you just ask.
• Historic Trails – Take a walk in the shoes of history by visiting historical trails.
• Post Office Tour – Learn how the postal system works, mail is sorted and sent out to the correct address by taking a tour of your local post office.
• Historical Reenactment – If you live near where historical reenactments take place, go! If you don’t, plan a trip at some point. Its a great way to make history come to life for your kids.
• Theater – Get group discounts to a local/community or city theater to learn more about plays and acting.
• Museum  – Learn more about past and even upcoming artists at a museum.
• Art Studio – Some art studios will allow you to observe an artist or even take a class.
• Local Festivals – Most states have numerous local festivals that you can visit. They are a great way to hear music, see arts & crafts and learn some local history. Some even have pioneer days, where people dress up in period costumes for the occasion.
• Orchestra or Concert – Many college or community/city orchestras will offer discounts to school groups. This is a great introduction to music for children.
• Photography – Have kids take their own photos to learn about lighting, focus and more.
• Pottery Studio – Learn how a kiln works and possibly make your own small piece of pottery.
• Visit sites famous authors wrote about – Do your kids love to read? Learn more about the places their favorite author(s) wrote about with a fun tour.
• Michael’s  – most stores offer craft classes for adults and children, you just need to enroll
• Lowe’s   or Home Depot – These stores also offer classes for children. Check their schedules to see what you can build!
• Jewelry Store – Kids can learn how gold is soldered, rings are resized, about different metals and possibly even about designing their own jewelry.

• Tour a local factory – This could be a car, toy, bread or any other manufacturing plant that allows tours.
• Railway station/Train Ride – Learn about the railway system or take a train ride to see how people used to (and some still do) travel across the country. This would be great opportunity to learn the history of the train.
• Farm – There are many different types of farms to learn about. Visit a local farmer to learn about planting and/or harvesting, raising animals (dairy farm, chicken farm) or just how a small, local farm works.
• Aviation Museum – If you live near an aviation museum, I highly recommend visiting. Combine it with some studies of pioneer aviators and how the industry has changed.
• Fish hatchery – This is a great way to learn how fish are fed and reproduced to be given to fish farms to continue their growth for the fish industry.
• Bakery/Donut Shop – If you live near a Krispy Kreme, they do offer tours for small groups. Otherwise, check with your local bakery. This is a fun way for kids to learn how cakes and pastries are made. (KK allows kids to decorate their own donuts too!)
• Recycling Plant – This a great trip around Earth Day to teach kids how the recycling process works and why its important.
• Local Orchard or Farm – We used to live near a couple of orchards/farms that allowed families and groups to come and pick pumpkins, apples, pears, etc. Often times you can coordinate tours for larger groups, like a homeschool group or co-op.
• Local Power Plant – Have your kids ever wondered where electricity comes from? This is a great way to teach them first hand.
• Lumber Mill – Lumber mills are a great way to teach kids how the wood industry works. And if you’re lucky like us, they might even have a logging company to show kids how they cut down trees.
• Nursery – Take a tour of your local nursery to find out what plants are native to your area, what plants thrive in your climate and how to care for them.
• Ghost Towns – There are more ghost towns around than you think, especially if you live in an older state and rural area. They are full of history and wonder. It can make for some great exploring and even fantastic creative writing prompts.
• Historic homes tour – Take a tour of historic homes in and around your town. Its a great way to learn more about where you live and how it became what you see today.
• Tour of your town by bike or on foot – This is a great way to see and read all those historical plaques in your town, that you drive by so quickly.
• Local animal shelter – Visit a local animal shelter to find out more about what they do and how you can you help (even if you’re not interested in adopting a pet).
• Visit a local entrepreneur – If your town has someone that has grown a business from the ground up, they may be willing to speak to kids about how to grow a business or give them some tips in starting their own. This is a great activity for older students wanting to start their own business.
• Water Treatment Facility – Learn more about where your water comes from and how its cleaned when you tour your local water treatment facility.
• Local Newspaper – Find out how the journalism world works with a tour of a local newspaper.
• Veterinarian – Children can learn what a vet does and why it is important to have your pets checked regularly with a tour of a veterinarian’s office.
• Library Tour – Most homeschoolers are more familiar with their local library than anything else. However, have they learned how the dewey decimal system works or why its used? Ask for a tour of your local library for them to learn more!
• Bank – Touring a bank is a great way to learn about financing, money and how banks work.
• County Courthouse – Take a tour of your county courthouse to learn more about the offices held there, tour a court room and talk to a judge to find out more about what they do.
• Local TV station – If you live in a large enough city (or even close to one) that has its own television station, coordinate a tour to learn more about how the world of television news works.
• Print shop – Visit a local print shop to see how they print not only small items (copies for offices), but large banners and the different techniques and signage they might use.
• 4-H Fair – Visiting your local 4-H Fair is not only a great way to support local kids, but also a great time to teach your own kids about farm animals and how they are cared for and raised.

What fun and educational Homeschool Field Trips have you taken?

More Homeschooling Tips:

• Summer Stargazing for Families (A fun, free 8 week course)
• 12 Ideas for a Purposeful Summer with the Kids
• 100+ Memory Tools for Homeschoolers
• The Ultimate List of Resources for Memorizing Science Facts
• The Ultimate List of History & Geography Memory Tools

About Annette Breedlove

Annette has been married to her husband and best friend for 10 years. They are raising their four children to follow the Lord’s will, no matter what.

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Awesome Field Trip Ideas for Students of All Ages

There’s no question about it: students love field trips! Field trips are an exciting and unique way to get students out of the classroom and into the “real world” during the school year. Some of your best memories from your own school days might be the awesome field trips you and your classmates took. Are you looking for fun and educational field trip ideas to inspire students of all ages? Maybe you’re stumped on where to take older students or brainstorming homeschool field trips. Whether you’re teaching elementary, middle, or high school students, look no further than these great ideas for field trips!

Visit a Museum

Museums are time-honored field trip destinations for a good reason! They provide entertaining and educational talking points for classes of all ages and are already created to appeal to younger and older students alike. Check out these kinds of museums.

• Art museums
• Science museums (don’t skip the planetarium!)
• Maritime museums
• Archaeology museums
• Historic house/building museums
• Cemetery or gravesite museums
• Technology museums

Enjoy Nature

The natural world is an invaluable learning resource and a source of countless field trip ideas! These nature-based field trip ideas will be sure to keep your students entertained.

National or state parks

Go for a hike or tour the visitor’s center at your local state or national park. Supporting the national parks system helps it stay beautiful for years to come! You can integrate geography, biology, history, geology, and more into your visit.

Botanical gardens

Botanical gardens are beautiful and a great place to talk about science and art. You can even have your students do a photography project!

Sculpture gardens

While sculpture gardens are technically more art than nature, they are another fabulous field trip idea. Some are even interactive or encourage touching the art!

Meet the Animals

Whether you’re wrangling 35 middle school students or you’re a parent teaching homeschooled kids, you’d have a hard time finding a student without a favorite animal, and chances are they’ll see that animal when you visit one of these destinations!

Zoos or conservation centers

The zoo is another field trip idea that has stood the test of time. Many zoos offer group or student discounts and include built-in activities for your visit, such as scavenger hunts or guided tours.

Farms are not only a place to visit animals but also a chance to talk about history, biology, and even economics. Plus, you can never go wrong by supporting your local farmers!

If you asked students their favorite field trip idea on this list, many would vote for a visit to the aquarium! Aquariums engage students of all ages while providing helpful information about the natural world.

Fish hatcheries

A fish hatchery might not be the first location that comes to mind when you think about entertaining your students, but it’s actually a great field trip idea. Fish hatcheries are full of interesting information, often offer tours, and can provide a wealth of knowledge on your local region’s waterways.

Watch a Show

Taking your students to a show serves as a jumping-off point for conversations about literature, art, theater, music, and everything else under the sun. It also makes an ideal rainy-day trip as your students will stay safe and dry. These and more performances make great learning experiences for your students.

• Theater productions
• Acrobatic performances
• Magic shows
• Presentations (think TED Talks!)
• Book talks or poetry readings

Get Patriotic

The United States has many unique characteristics that you can talk about while teaching anything from history to archaeology to government. Visit these uniquely American destinations!

Capital buildings

Whether you visit your state capital or the nation’s capital in Washington, DC, there’s always something to learn about American history when you visit its source!

Historical sites

You don’t have to go to a museum to see historical artifacts and buildings — some of them are in your own backyard! Check out historical sites near you and see if any offer tours.

Post offices

The United States Postal Service is a venerable and uniquely American institution that’s been around for hundreds of years, and your students can learn about anything from history to commerce to government by taking a post office tour! Many post offices will be glad to help you arrange a visit with your students.

Teaching the value of ecological preservation? It’s always a good lesson for students to learn their impact on the world around them. Try these field trip ideas for a greener world:

• A recycling center
• An alternative energy plant
• The local landfill or garbage processing facility
• An ecological cleanup site (can also serve as an opportunity for volunteer work!)

Explore the Working World

It’s never too early to talk to your students about the future, which means career-based field trip ideas are always on the table. Explore the working world when you visit these destinations.

• TV stations
• Manufacturing plants or factories
• Science labs
• Technology companies
• Courthouses
• Healthcare facilities
• Food production facilities
• Colleges or universities

Reward Your Students

While field trips are about having fun as much as they’re about an educational experience, some field trips serve more to reward your students for their hard work at the end of the school year or after a particularly hard quarter or semester. Sometimes you can even sneak in a few physics, math, or English lessons, too! You’re sure to make students happy when you arrive at these destinations.

Bowling alley

Bowling is a great field trip idea for students who just need some time to have fun. You can often rent out a whole bowling alley to accommodate as many students as needed.

Laser tag/arcade

Everyone loves laser tag! Laser tag arenas often include arcades as well for students who don’t want to run around in the dark. There are often group and student discounts for laser tag, although it can be on the pricier side of field trip ideas.

Ice skating

Ice skating is a unique and fun field trip idea that is relatively easy to organize! It’s best suited for older students who view learning to skate as a fun challenge.

Sports game

Do you have a class full of aspiring MLB or NBA players? Trying to get your homeschooled kids interested in sports? Going to a baseball, football, basketball, or soccer game can be a fun class activity. Make sure you can book seats all together so your students can bond and relax watching the game while you keep an eye on the venue.

Amusement park

What list of field trip ideas would be complete without mentioning a visit to an amusement park? Amusement parks are designed to be fun, meaning there’s something every student can enjoy. However, they can be somewhat overwhelming, so be sure to check out these tips for an amusement park trip with kids before you go.

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Ready to take your students to a destination they’ll love? YellowBird Bus Company provides school bus rentals for all kinds of field trips, no matter where you’re headed! Contact us today, and we’ll get you and your students rolling!

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Grade 4: Southeast Region of the U.S.

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Video Storyline : Take a tour of the Southeastern states as we go back in time to look at this region as the early colonists did. Along the way we’ll look at the geography, history, and economy of the area to help us understand how the people and the many natural resources have helped to shape its development over time.

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Southeast region of the u.s..

Landforms and Bodies of Water

Print out or look at a map of the Southeast.

Identify landforms and bodies of water in the Southeast Region.

Cloze Practice

A cloze piece has full sentences used in the virtual field trip with blanks where students can write in the information that is missing. This task requires close listening to the trip in order to complete it.

Art and Social Studies

Draw a scene from the video you just watched.

Create Quizzes

Students create a quiz based on the information presented for their peers. This can be used as a review for a test, or jigsaw class activity where students are responsible for teaching other students assigned topics.

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Facts About the Southeast Region

Cash crops – tobacco, rice, cotton

Rise of the textile industry

Rise of the coal mining industry

Kentucky’s horse racing industry

Florida’s tourism industry

Geography and landforms of the SE

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Grade 4 - The Northeast Region of the U.S.

Grade 3 - The Geography of Our Communities

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