To walk in the footsteps of historical events and in the halls of today’s legislative buildings – these are two of the goals that come to mind when planning educational tours. The best itineraries for school tours include museums, historical sites, popular restaurants, and a little walking.
Museums offer a variety of learning experiences. Groups can find a world-class museum for almost any subject of interest they can imagine. Most inspire a sense of gratitude for the historians who had the forethought to preserve important artifacts, natural discoveries, and early pieces of amazing innovation. Washington DC offers the most extensive collection of museums in our nation. You’ll find the Smithsonian Institution there with its many varied facilities, tributes to nature, astronomy, art, world cultures, pop culture, and history.
Natural history museums abound in the many destinations popular for educational tours. You’ll find examples in The Field Museum in Chicago, The American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in DC. These often include IMAX theaters for larger-than-life educational experiences. Planetariums transport students to better views of the Universe. And aquariums take them to another world, where they become explorers of the mysteries of the ocean.
Beyond natural history, there is still so much to discover in the world’s many comprehensive museums.
American history has been captured several ways, and educational tours make use of these realities as well. Students can literally walk in the footsteps of famous Americans and the events in which they participated on walking paths like The Freedom Trail in Boston, which links several attractions pivotal to the American Revolution. Other trails feature contributions and events from black history. Attractions like Mt. Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, and Plimoth Plantation transport students to another time, a memorable era in American history.
Walking tours are the heart of educational school travel. Large attractions like Mt. Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, museums, park districts, and national parks or landmarks require lots of walking and allow students to really embrace the learning experience intrinsic to the destination. Walking tours can be comprised of historical settings or modern attractions as you’ll find in Boston’s Back Bay, Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, or New York City’s Fifth Avenue and Central Park. Lower Manhattan is one of many attractions showcasing both history (it used to be the seat of American government and certainly represents the industrial revolution and the growth of capitalism) and modern culture as students can view the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and its memorials after the tragedy of 9/11. Boston’s Back Bay and Chicago’s Michigan Avenue offer similar mingling of the past with the present.
These and many other thrills create the itineraries that lead to educational tours no student can forget. Click the button at right to request more information about our customized educational tours to any destination.
