The Importance of Field Trips in Academic Learning
Posted on by Jenny Tracy, Executive Director
There was a child went forth every day… And the first object he looked upon…that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day . . . . or for many years or stretching cycles of years. - Walt Whitman
I have been asking different people - colleagues, children, family - about their most memorable field trips, and everyone lights up at their recollection of where school and other programs had taken them - the memory remains firm even after many years have passed. I heard about field trips to the movies, to the Mayflower, to science, art, or history museums, to nearby landmarks, markets, and even to the local landfill and each person seemed to recall these special days with an extraordinary fondness.
My first field trip I remember took me to a local bakery. I was in first grade, and I still remember the smells and the flour and the people all playing their unique roles, and then the final product coupled with butter was pretty close to perfect. That field trip took me out of my everyday life and exposed me to a place, a smell, a taste, and an experience I had never had.
At Horizons field trips are foundational to a holistic academic program. All students go on at least 3 unique, age-appropriate, content-relevant field trips per summer - providing exposure to something new, deepening their learning, and expanding their horizons.
Conducted in collaboration with many local partners, this summer our students will get to experience their local parks through visits to the Nature Center, the Arboretum, hiking in Dupont State Forest, and sampling streams with the Riverlink. Students will tour and eat at the Omni Grove Park Inn and enjoy the bounty of our local farmers at the Asheville Farmers Markets. Students will engage with horses at Wind Horse Farm, visit (many for the very first time) animals at the Nature Center.
We are thrilled about these experiences awaiting our students each and every Horizons summer.