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Welcome to Twenty Six Lists! I hope you'll join me in using some fun List prompts for writing. Every other week I'll share a writing prompt and invite you to link up your list, and wherever the prompt takes you. You may want to simply make a list of five or ten items that answer the prompt, or you may elaborate on the items in your list, or even write an entire article. Be creative, and have fun!
Okay, so nobody is going on any field trips right now. Not real ones, anyway! By the way, aren't virtual field trips so cool?! How awesome that we live in a world where we can do that! I think I might make up a list of my favorite virtual field trips and link up in my own link-up! But for today, I am focusing on some places we have actually visited and that I recommend. I hope you get some good ideas and that we can all make plans to go on some awesome field trips soon.
List #9 - Favorite Field Trips
- Conservatories are the most recent favorites, as we visited several during the summer. These often appeal more to older students, as little ones may not like having to stay on paths and not touch. That said, most conservatories that we've been in have sections that are designed for children and do allow them a lot of hands-on experiences. There's more than just horticulture to learn about - conservatories are great learning experiences for ecology and geography. And at places like Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, there are seasonal exhibits that touch on other areas of study as well, like art history. You can read about the conservatories we've visited in the following Conservatory Tour PhotoJournals: Franklin Park; Phipps Conservatory; Rawlings Conservatory; National Botanical Gardens; and Longwood Gardens.
- Art museums aren't necessarily the highbrow black-tie type places you might expect. We've visited the Baltimore Museum of Art on a couple of occasions and while there is that hushed museum atmosphere in many of the rooms, it is still quite interesting for all ages and there's plenty to interest you even if you're not majoring in Art History. We've also found a Cartoon Museum in Columbus that's really interesting. And I'd include the National Building Museum as an art museum as well, because there's a lot to learn about architecture and design there along with engineering and other sciences. See my posts: Baltimore Museum of Art Field Trip, Virtual Refrigerator - Cartoon Museum Art Field Trip, and A National Building Museum PhotoJournal.
- Living history museums are always a fun and informative field trip! We've visited St. Augustine, St. Mary's City, Geneseo County, and more. Hands-on and immersive learning opportunities abound! See my post: From the High School Lesson Book: St Augustine and St Mary's
- Check the greenhouse operations near you to see if they do tours. Many wholesale growers do tours for school groups even if they are not open for walk-ins or for retail sales. We've been lucky to have an "in" with a local greenhouse because my husband is the manager! We've hosted a couple of field trips for our homeschool group. Find out more: A Poinsettia PhotoJournal and From the High School Lesson Book - A Poinsettia PhotoJournal (Greenhouse Field Trip)
- An aquarium! We love the National Aquarium in Baltimore, but some zoos have nice aquariums as well. This is a trip that has something for all ages! See: From the High School Lesson Book - A National Aquarium PhotoJournal
- Our family got interested in visiting lighthouses many years ago, so whenever we have a chance to see one - usually while on vacation - we do. One of the best family field trips we've done is Ponce Inlet Lighthouse in Florida. There's a great lighthouse museum there that we enjoyed. My post History Lesson - Lighthouses explains more!
- I always wished I'd been able to organize a homeschool field trip to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park here in Maryland. Our family has visited there quite a few times and there's plenty to see, do, and learn. See: From the High School Lesson Book - Canal Transport
- We are sports fans, so we recommend visiting sports museums - the Hockey Hall of Fame, Baseball Hall of Fame, and Football of Fame. And sort of related - we sure loved the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well!
- For something a little different from the standard zoo visit, see if there's a wildlife refuge or even an animal rescue operation. We greatly enjoyed visiting the exotic animal rescue near us, and you can read about it and see pictures here: An Exotic Animal PhotoJournal; and read about the wildlife refuge we visited here: A Wildlife Refuge PhotoJournal
- To make this a Top Ten list, I'm rounding it out with one of the field trips from way back that we still remember fondly. Years ago I arranged a homeschool field trip to a local television and radio studio, and everyone in our group loved it. I took my own kids back a few years later and it was interesting to see all the changes. And my oldest son went into radio broadcasting for his career, and I think that initial field trip helped spark his interest. I wish I had pictures or a link, but I don't and I need to get this posted so I can carry on with the rest of my day!
See my related post:
Wow, that's a lot of link/photos! And it's only a few of our field trips.
What's on your list of favorite field trips? Link up or tell me in the comments!
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Bonus List - Upcoming in Twenty Six Lists so you can think ahead!
May 14 - How Do You De-stress or Recharge?
May 28 - National Parks
June 11 - Favorite Photos
June 25 - Good Influences
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