Announce there will be a field trip to a group of students and you’ll likely hear a satisfying roar of excitement. For students, field trips are an opportunity to get out of the confines of school premises and learn through hands-on experience in unexplored territory. Not all field trips are created equally, so here are four that are sure to have your kids forever reminiscing about.
Amusement Parks
It may be hard to fathom what lessons could possibly come from an amusement park visit, but they do indeed exist. The lesson actually begins at home with preparation. Parents help their child anticipate weather conditions to gauge what to wear. Planning whether to take a camera or not, packing snacks and medications—if necessary—and safety discussions are just a few things that students must plan for.
At the park, they learn patience in a busy and often chaotic social environment. They learn to work as a team to decide on where their group ventures first, often navigating a park map while making collective decisions. The rides and food are a fun way to spend a child’s energy in an environment designed to spark imagination. In the end, you have kids who will talk about how much fun their trip was, having not even noticed the many things they learned along the journey.
Historic Adventures
This world is littered with incredible spaces where history has been forged, providing unbounded opportunity to learn and connect with those who lived in generations past. Narrated stories about events and being able to touch, feel and smell items connected to that event have a lasting impact on kids. Giving experiences a whirl can also teach gratitude while illustrating how technology has made life so much easier for them. It might also encourage children’s desires to be part of a career centered on technological advancement.
A Great Escape
No list of exciting field trips would be complete without the inclusion of a great room escape! Why, oh why, did they not have these when my generation was going on field trips? Room escape experiences are designed to present the challenge of escaping from a room using group team building and problem solving skills. Companies like Houdini’s Room Escape have even gone so far as to have military specialists help create their escape rooms in a way that genuinely challenges and bonds groups together to achieve the goal of getting free. This is truly an unforgettable experience.
Acts of Charity
There are many reasons that cause people to need the help of others. Field trips that pull the curtain back on poverty, homelessness, hunger and illness leave a lasting and heartfelt impact on kids. Not only does it subject them to the consequences of various states of the human condition, it also strengthens compassion and encourages gratitude for what they have by witnessing what so many others are living without. Visits to hospitals, volunteering at soup kitchens and performing in assisted living homes can leave youth with unparalleled inspiration.
If your kids are going to go on a field trip, it might as well be one that they will talk about with fondness for a lifetime. You know, the kind of field trip that has parents racing one another to the chaperone sign-up sheet. Not all field trips are created equally; some are simply extraordinary!
