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What are your favorite homeschool field trips?


MangoMama
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We love field trips!

Last year (2010, we school by calendar year) we went on 40 and we would honestly have a hard time picking out a few favorites. I am very selective so seldom have a 'dud.'

Some highlights:

Da Vinci exhibit at Fort Worth Museum of Science and History

St Louis Science Center (awesome!)

Five zoos and one drive-through wildlife park (Fort Worth, Saint Louis, Omaha, Topeka, Waco and Fossil Rim)

Lewis and Clark Center in Nebraska City

Pony Express Museum in St Joseph

 

We visit zoos, botanical gardens and art galleries whenever we travel, plus we attend a number of live theater productions each year.

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We're only a few months in and have just a K'er.

Our faves have been:

 

1) A Christmas trip to local historical site (home/farm c. 1780's). An excellent tour, a good craft, authentic period snacks and square dancing! 50 homeschoolers - ages 4 through 7th grade - doing the Virgina Reel was just priceless!

 

2) A puppet show at our downtown library when the kids got to see behind the stage and see how everything works and ask questions of the puppeteers for 30+ minutes after the show.

 

Not strictly a field trip, just a family outing: a trip to a local Aquarium. Penguins, sharks and clown fish were all huge hit!

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We relocated to the South where there is so much history! So fave field trips are re-enactments (Native American, Revolutionary War, Civil War), Fts. Sumpter and Pulaski, the Yorktown battleship (got to stay overnight with scouts), plantations, historic cities (Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta), battlefields, and old train depots and canals. The thought of being "right where they stood" makes history so exciting and real to my DSs.

 

We are also fortunate to have easy access to good science and art museums, playhouses, and lots of ecological preserves (alligator-infested swamps, snake-infested forests, etc.).

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Well, I live right in between Washington DC and Baltimore, so we have TONS to do, LOL!

 

Last year our FAVORITE was going to Jug Bay Natural Area along the Patuxent River. They had a Southern rural life museum, with a real Sears Roebuck house. We took a nature hike and went on a pontoon boat ride along the river. We saw Beaver lodges, Osprey, ducks, turtles, etc. The kids LOVED it....

 

Others we have done/are doing:

 

- (in 2 weeks) Baltimore Aquarium

- (in 1 month) Civil Rights play (for kids) at American History Museum

- (in March) Local Landfill and Recycling Center

- local ice cream/candy shop

- Puppet show about Wright Brothers at Air and Space Museum

- Holiday display at US Botanical Gardens

- Thanksgiving themed tour or Museum of the American Indian

- Fall Hayride and pumpkin/apple picking at local Farm

- local fire station

- National Zoo

- Xi'an Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit at National Geographic museum

- Natural History Museum

- Maryland Science Center

- WW2 Memorial

- US Army Band Christmas concert

- Library of Congress

 

That's all I can think of right now! Next year we study American History and are starting the year off with HS days in Williamsburg and later a day trip to Philadelphia. We'll do Antietam Battlefield, Ft. McHenry, Gettysburg, Londontowne, Annapolis, Mt. Vernon, etc. We are very lucky to live in this area :)

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Wow! That's hard to narrow down! We've been to Pioneer Farms, Pumpkin Farms, Museum of Flight, Art Museums, Science Center, Zoos, Reptile Zoo, beaches at low tide, observation decks of tall buildings. In a couple weeks were going to a local elementary school (they invited our hs organization) to participate in a fused glass workshop. There are so many things to do! So little time! :tongue_smilie:

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We've belonged to a field trip group since my oldest was in kindergarten, so we have done a ton of field trips. I've listed some of the best ones we've done. I really like the trips tothe vet's office, restaurant tours, etc. because those are things we wouldn't be able to do without our group. I really enjoyed the Capitol tour and the White House, but we could have easily have done those as a family. Also, if you are working with a group, I think it's nice to have a couple of roller skating, bowling, whatever, type of trips so that you have the opportunity to really socialize with the people you are going on these trips with all year.

 

Chocolate Factory Tour

Restaurant Tours

Nature Center Programs

White House

Capitol Building

Paint your Own Pottery

Farm Tours

Quarry Tour

Landfill Tour

National Gallery of Art

Wegman's Tour

Etiquette Class - one session for our group

Equine Center

National Zoo

Airport Tour

local ballet performances

Children's Theater programs

Bakery

Planetarium

Historic Homes

General Mail Facility for our area

Vet's office

Various local museums

Beekeeper demo/honey factory

Petting Zoo

Dentist's office

bowling/roller skating/ice skating

One room schoolhouse with reenactment

Various children's museums

 

Lisa

Edited by LisaTheresa
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We've belonged to a field trip group since my oldest was in kindergarten, so we have done a ton of field trips. I've listed some of the best ones we've done. I really like the trips tothe vet's office, restaurant tours, etc. because those are things we wouldn't be able to do without our group. I really enjoyed the Capitol tour and the White House, but we could have easily have done those as a family. Also, if you are working with a group, I think it's nice to have a couple of roller skating, bowling, whatever, type of trips so that you have the opportunity to really socialize with the people you are going on these trips with all year.

 

Chocolate Factory Tour

Restaurant Tours

Nature Center Programs

White House

Capitol Building

Paint your Own Pottery

Farm Tours

Quarry Tour

Landfill Tour

National Gallery of Art

Wegman's Tour

Etiquette Class - one session for our group

Equine Center

National Zoo

Airport Tour

local ballet performances

Children's Theater programs

Bakery

Planetarium

Historic Homes

General Mail Facility for our area

Vet's office

Various local museums

Beekeeper demo/honey factory

Petting Zoo

Dentist's office

bowling/roller skating/ice skating

One room schoolhouse with reenactment

Various children's museums

 

Lisa

 

Is it a safe guess that you are somewhat close to my area?? May I ask where you went for the Honey Factory Tour and the Quarry Tour?

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Fav field trips in the last couple of years: Fire engine factory, One Room Schoolhouse (docents "taught" school for the day), Breadsmith, rock wall climbing (local state U), Black Hills, Mt. Rushmore, snowshoeing, x-country skiing (both free through Outdoor Campus), History Day at State U, TeenPact (week-long for older kids, 1-day for younger -GREAT info and lots of fun at the capitol), Dead Sea Scrolls, Omaha Zoo (fantastic!), campaigning- phone banking and lit dropping, sign waving- even the younger kids love to do this, drama festivals and camps.

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