What was your favorite field trip in school ?

[wayne foundation 07]

Field trips days were always the best days in grade school, there were always a couple field trips each school year. As our daughter went through grade school they hardly seem to take them and always made me wonder why. I remember in 4th grade we went to Schoenbrunn Village .

http://www.ohiosfirstvillage.com/?page=3

It was enough fun that even as time has passed and we have been years removed from school we have gone back several times.

[Hedji]

Heh heh. This should be an interesting thread for me. I make my living in the Field Trip business.

I guess the one that stands out to me is a lot like yours, Ben. The Genesee Country Village and Museum was sort of a local Colonial Williamsburg. The smell of those stone fireplaces, creaky old houses, and watching the blacksmith work is the stuff that stays with you. As is the case with most experiential learning.

As our daughter went through grade school they hardly seem to take them and always made me wonder why.

Money. You'd be surprised how much the bus transportation costs in relation to the field trip itself. Also, State Standards and Common Core have made schools adhere strictly to very inside-the-box learning strategies. Education is in a creativity crisis right now, but that's another thread.

[Iron Mego]

Going to see Ray Bradbury speak. One of the few that I remember to this day.

[PNGwynne]

Sea World in Aurora and Roscoe Village were memorable, but the best was Cleveland's Museum of Art. I've been there several times and it never fails to educate, move, or inspire me.

[FETT1]

any field was a goOD one...NO SCHOoL .....

[FETT1]

Going to see Ray Bradbury speak. One of the few that I remember to this day.

WHOAAAAA...COoL !!

[LordMudd]

I drive a bus in the Houston Tx area. Lots of destinations. I see lots of schools that trip and some that just don't. Sometimes it is the teachers not knowing where they can go or even how to set up the trip. Other times the school just doesn't push it. I know 1 middle school that won't allow the students to go anywhere with water.


CCC.

[J.B.]

In the 8th Grade we sold Tupperware to pay for a trip to Washington D.C. My greatest highlight was seeing the USS Enterprise hanging in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

[HardyGirl]

Well, I've been on both sides of the fence. I've been on field trips as a kid, and a teacher. As a kid, we had 17 field trips in 4th grade alone. No, I'm not kidding, we actually went on 17 of them. Sometimes our teacher's husband would come along, take photos and make slides. Then he'd come to school w/ his slide projector and our teacher would give us cookies or popcorn while we watched, so that was cool. But I always liked going to the Hayden Planetarium, Times Square, The Empire State Bldg, The Burlington Mill (that was just a quick pass through on our way to wherever), going to see the Alvin Ailey Dancers, or going to see Santa at Macy's.

In 6th grade we sold cookies and Dunkin Donuts Munchkins to pay for a trip to Philedelphia. Seeing the Liberty Bell was pretty cool!

As an adult taking kids on field trips when I taught day camp, I loved going to Waterworld and Six Flags.

[Marvelmania]

Biltmore Gardens. That place was HUGE not to mention beautiful. Never seen anything like that place before or since.

[Blue Meanie]

Museum of Natural History in New York and Sagamore Hill, home of President Theodore Roosevelt, here on Long Island. His den was about the size of my house...literally. Beautiful home and estate. Recently it has been refurbished and I want to go back just to see what has been done. Oh and one more...the Vanderbilt Planetarium.

[Rallygirl]

In all my years of school, I only went on seven field trips and they all sucked. My husband's school district took them to museums in Chicago, Detroit, and Washington DC. They also went on four day camp trips. Who knows how many awesome day trips they got. What did we get?

My 10th grade science class walked to the waste water treatment plant for a tour.

My 8th grade social studies class toured a pop bottling plant as part of Junior Achievement. Even less fun than the sewage plant. We also got to go to a water park during the last week of school. HOWEVER, the park rules were "no glasses outside of the changing rooms". I cannot see my hand in front of face, so I sat on a bench for six hours because I couldn't move without tripping, falling, or walking into something.

In third grade, my class went to Windmill Island, our local cheesy tourist trap.

In fourth grade, we spent two days, one in the spring and one in the fall, on all day hikes. Again, really not fun!

But the highlight was in Kindergarten when the K-3 building went to the House of Dark Shadows,...a local haunted house attraction. I cannot begin to tell you how many children either went home with wet pants or were simply scarred for life. What kind of teachers take 6 year olds to a haunted house?

[Fitski]

We had an 8th grade trip 4 day trip to Ottawa that was really great. Other years it was Marineland, BlueJays games, Toronto Zoo, African Lions Safari, Chinatown, Ontario Place.

[enyawd72]

Hooters.

[Fitski]

Hooters.

I went there too but it was take your kid to work day