Everyone (read: students) knows the best part about school is the field trips. Students get to get out of the classroom and into the real world, even if just for a few hours. These trips, no matter where they are, are formative for children. Whether it’s learning how to shuck corn on the grounds of a historical park, studying the tribal gear in an African art exhibit, or understanding how gravity works at the science museum, these hands-on learning experiences give children the ability to do things that can’t always fit inside the four walls of a classroom.

In this article, we’re going to share with you the 10 benefits of school field trips and why it’s crucial for children to learn outside the classroom. 

The 10 Benefits of School Field Trips

Students do better in school

Leaving school actually makes students do better when they get back to school. We’re not talking about suspensions or weekends or holidays or vacations. We’re talking about field trips. 

Regardless of gender, ethnicity or socioeconomic status, students who go on field trips have better grades, higher graduation rates from high school and college, and greater income [1]. In fact, in a study conducted by the NEA, 89% of adults said educational trips had a positive, lasting impact on their education and career because the trips made them more engaged, intellectually curious and interested in and out of school.

Students learn more social skills

By getting out of the classroom and into a new place that encourages learning in a different aspect, students have the opportunity to do more than learn. They have the chance to talk to new people. These social skills they acquire help them learn things that they can’t in textbooks or in workbooks.

Students can visit new places

Not everyone has the financial means to visit museums and art galleries and historical landmarks. So these field trips give children the opportunities to see places they may not regularly visit. 

Field trips exist not just to provide economically useful skills in numeracy and literacy, but also to introduce people to 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 these trips do not provide them. 

With field trips, public schools viewed themselves as the great equalizer in terms of access to our cultural heritage [2].

Students can become critical thinkers

Field trips are more than going to a new place and getting out of school for the day. Everywhere you go can turn into a learning experience. 

Students who go on field trips are known to have become more observant, noticing and describing more details in image or exhibit [3]. Being observant and paying attention to detail is an important and highly useful skill that students learn when they study and discuss what they see on field trips.

Students learn by experiencing, not just by studying “theory”

When students leave the classroom, they see the connections between what is happening at school and in the “real world.” They begin to see that what they learn within the walls of the classroom can help them solve the problems they see in the world around them, and can have a direct impact on who they become as adults [3].

Students learn more time management skills

A lot goes into a field trip, and while teachers, chaperones, and workers are the ones in charge, it’s also up to students to figure out what exhibits they want to learn about, how much time they need to eat, and when they can manage to visit the gift shop at the end of the trip. 

Field trips give students perhaps their first feel of independence, even if dozens of adults are watching over them.

Students get to learn by doing

Think of the science museums and historical parks around your area. The classes they offer and the exhibits they show. The things students can learn that they wouldn’t otherwise get to inside a classroom. That’s because not all students can get the full education they need when they learn from textbooks and reading and application. 

Each person has a different way of accumulating knowledge. While some prefer listening to learn better, others need to write or they only need to read the text or see a picture to later remember. The learning styles can be classified in visual, auditory and kinesthetic [3]. The distribution of the three learning styles is 65% visual, 30% auditory and 5% kinesthetic. 

Field trips give these more unique learners a chance to, well, learn.

Students learn more teamwork skills

While on field trips, students typically get the chance to work together to solve simulated problems associated with the place of the field trip. Differing from group projects in school, these “real world” simulations allow children to put their teamwork skills and critical thinking skills to good use.

Students develop a stronger connection to the community

Communities are often rooted in a rich sense of history. By getting out of the classroom and into the streets, students can learn that there’s more out there than their little insular bubbles. School can bog students down, so it’s important to remind them how much is out there, even in our own community.

Students learn more leadership skills

Learning about people and places on field trips give students a chance to step out of their comfort zone. It gives children the chance to step up when they’re out in public. A leadership opportunity as simple as making a child the student leader in a group gives students the chance to test themselves and build relationships with those around them.

Buying Guide

• Remember the trip you went on by bringing a Polaroid camera from Unique Photo.

• This camera will need immediately printable film from Retrospekt.

• If you have a cell phone and it’s allowed on the field trip, don’t let it die while you’re out. Purchase the ZAGG portable charger case. And don’t forget to charge the case before the trip.

• No matter where you go on a field trip, chances are you’ll be taking a drive to get there. Stay hydrated with a vibey crystal water bottle from Vorda.

• Pack all of your belongings in a Fjallraven backpack.