When we look back on our K-12 grade school years, most of our fondest memories revolve around the fun and educational field trips we went on. I’m sure many of you can still remember the excitement of waking up on field trip day, knowing that you won’t need your pencils or textbooks, and all you have to do is hang out with your friends, ride the bus to a cool, interesting place, and experience something fun and new!
There are tons of awesome places that you can bring a group of students to teach them about a variety of important subjects, like: history, business, biology, astronomy, and a myriad of other topics, all while having an absolute blast with their teachers, classmates and chaperones.
Provided in this article, you will discover some of the best possible locations for a school field trip, with ideas that will work no matter where you are in the country, as well as some specific destinations for those of you local to the Tallahassee, Florida area.
Fun School Field Trip Ideas
Since no two states are the same, we want to provide a more general list of field trip ideas that should be accessible in or within driving distance to most cities and towns around the country. Some of our favorite field trip locations include:
Historical Sites
The best way to teach students about history, particularly the history local to your city or state, is by going on a field trip to a historical site, whether it be an important building or house, Civil War battle ground, or statue/monument. Sites like these often offer educational tours, where skilled tour guides can teach your children about the history surrounding the location in a fun and eye-opening way.
Wildlife/Nature Preserve
There is no better way to teach your students about the flora and fauna of your geographic area than by physically immersing them in it at a local wildlife/nature preserve. Guided tours and scenic walking paths not only guarantee to teach your kids, but also get some great exercise at the same time.
Planetarium
For those of you in larger metropolitan areas, it is entirely possible that there is a planetarium within driving distance. Few places can instill a wonder in a child’s mind quite like a planetarium, where they can be taken on a journey to the deepest reaches of the universe, learning about planets, moons, galaxies, and more along the way.
Zoo
Some field trip locations are classics for a reason, and the zoo is most definitely one of the quintessential field trip destinations. Zoos are great because they allow your students to get up close and personal with countless animals, large and small, that they would normally never get to encounter in their daily lives. Where else can you bring your kids where they can encounter lions and tigers, king cobras, elephants and zebras all in one place?
Zoos also do a great job of featuring educational tours, scavenger hunts, and other activities, since they already know that they get a lot of field trip traffic and want to provide a fun and educational experience for their young guests, to instill a love for wild animals at a young age.
Museum
Whether you decide to bring your student group to a large, well-known museum or a smaller, local, niche-specific museum, there is still a lot to be gained from an educational standpoint. Be sure to check your area to see which types of museums are available, but some common ones that you might want to check out are: art museums, natural history museums, science museums, war museums, and children’s museums.
Manufacturing Facility
A great way to teach your students about business and manufacturing is by bringing them to some form of manufacturing facility. This can include any factory which produces cars, tools, toys, equipment, or any other products. Getting to see the process that produces items that many children’s families own is not only fascinating, it’s a lot of fun too. Learn about the supply chain, automation, how raw materials are used to make the final product, and other aspects of the manufacturing business.
Fire Department/Police Department
Field trips to see where our first responders are dispatched from is not only a great way to teach kids about these organizations, but to help them learn a healthy respect for our local heroes. Interactions like these are also great for teaching students about fire safety, the importance of avoiding illegal drugs, and other important life lessons that kids need to learn to grow up to be responsible and law abiding citizens.
Local TV Station
This is a particularly fun field trip idea since most children love to watch television, but few understand what goes on behind the scenes to get their favorite shows and cartoons to actually show up on their tv screens everyday.
See if your local station will allow student tours, and try to schedule it so that your class can watch a news broadcast be recorded and broadcast, all while learning about the manpower and technology required to get the show from the studio into everyone’s living rooms.
Fun Tallahassee Field Trip Ideas
Florida Historic Capitol Museum
400 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 487-1902
http://www.flhistoriccapitol.gov/
The Florida Historic Capitol Museum helps to showcase the past, present, and future connection between the people of Florida and their political institutions through programs of civic education, historic interpretation, and preservation.
Apalachicola National Forest
325 John Knox Road, Tallahassee, FL 32303
(904) 942-9300
https://www.fs.usda.gov/apalachicola
The Apalachicola National Forest has approximately 85 miles of designated hiking trails, although student groups are welcome anywhere in the Forest. Experience the breathtaking beauty of North Florida’s wildlife and get some great exercise at the same time.
Museum of Florida History
500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245-6400
https://museumoffloridahistory.com/
Opened in 1977, the Museum of Florida History collects, preserves, exhibits, and interprets evidence of past and present cultures in Florida, and promotes knowledge and appreciation of this heritage.
Challenger Learning Center IMAX
200 S Duval St, Tallahassee, FL 32301
(850) 645-7827
https://www.challengertlh.com/
The Challenger Learning Center features a space mission simulator, an IMAX 3D theatre, a dome theatre and planetarium. In addition to planetarium shows, a diverse library of IMAX documentaries, and educational mission simulations, the CLC conducts hands-on, minds-on learning labs, demos and camps for students, as well.
Field Trip School Bus Rentals
If you are looking to plan a field trip in the North Florida area, give your students the best possible experience with a school bus rental from Tomahawk Transportation. Choose from our 43-passenger conventional school bus, 51-passenger transit school bus, or our luxurious 55-passenger charter bus and let your students ride in style. Call our professional staff at (850) 815-2626 to schedule a rental today.
