Big Ideas Spanning Music, Science and Social Change
Tennessee field trips offer diverse educational experiences that aim to inspire curiosity and appreciation. In Memphis, groups can access one of the Civil Rights Movement’s most consequential sites, while Oak Ridge reveals nuclear-era scientific discoveries and the ethical questions surrounding them. Nashville brings music history and tradition into sharp focus, highlighting how African American music helped shape the nation’s culture. West Tennessee provides cross-curricular experiences in transportation, science, agriculture, and history within one gigantic learning environment, and outdoor classrooms encourage students to observe and investigate ecosystems and environmental science topics firsthand. Discover how music carries society and culture, how scientific discoveries change regions, and how everyday people influence social movements throughout the Volunteer State.
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“Engage with sound, rhythm and performance at interactive stations for natural connections to music technology, history and education.”
National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (Memphis)
Built around the infamous Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, the National Civil Rights Museum traces the tumultuous history of African Americans, from slavery and the fight for freedom through the 20th-century movement and beyond. Through primary sources, authentic artifacts, photographs, and authentic environments, students from upper elementary through high school can encounter civil rights history as a series of human choices made by people who believed that their actions could change the nation. They can gain firsthand knowledge of desegregation, sit-ins and peaceful protests, voter registration, the Memphis Sanitation Strike, and other campaigns, and are encouraged to use educational resources to examine topics, such as women in the movement, young activists, nonviolent protests, and the concept of human dignity. Designed primarily for students in grades 4-12, educational resources help learners understand aspects of the movement through immersive exhibit-based, digital activities.
American Museum of Science and Energy (Oak Ridge)
A unique field trip experience awaits at the American Museum of Science and Energy, where groups enter one of the country’s most fascinating scientific communities. Museum exhibits and educational programming are tailored to grade level and explore everything from atomic science, energy, and the Manhattan Project to Oak Ridge’s nuclear legacy and continuing scientific research. Curriculum-based programs and hands-on STEM activities help students understand that the area’s scientific story didn’t end with WWII; the region and modern life are still shaped by research, computing, energy, and related fields. Educator-led programs cover topics including chemistry, biology, physics, geology, weather, energy, and space, with interactive opportunities ranging from hurricane tracking to microscopy. The Engineer It maker station lets students in grades 5-8 experiment by designing workable solutions to specific challenges. Other experiences teach atomic structure and the periodic table, radiation and chemical reactions, and fission and fusion.
Discovery Park of America (Union City)
The expansive Discovery Park of America in Union City offers curriculum-connected programs designed to engage students from kindergarten through high school. Educator-led lessons introduce topics including transportation, science, natural history, technology, art, agriculture, and American history through dynamic, hands-on experiences. Park field trips and learning experiences can be tailored for different grade levels, with interactive exhibits that foster discovery of STEAM and history concepts. Planning for the April 23, 2027, Military Expo, featuring military history through reenactors and interactive exhibits, can further enrich student learning and engagement.
National Museum of African American Music (Nashville)
Music City covers the gamut of musical history, and the National Museum of African American Music is no exception. The museum gives students an interactive way to explore how Black musicians shaped many major genres of American music and culture through guided tours of engaging exhibits that trace numerous traditions. Students can move through galleries to examine everything from gospel, blues, jazz, and spirituals to hip-hop, R&B, and contemporary music, and learn how innovations to the art form reflect social change, migration, technology, and cultural exchange. They can also engage with sound, rhythm, and performance at interactive stations for natural connections to music technology, history, and education. Social studies can connect to civil rights and Black history, showing students how artists expressed identity, culture, faith, resistance, and community through music.
Ijams Nature Center (Knoxville)
School groups can discover hundreds of acres of living ecology through direct observation and investigation at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville during an inquiry-based field trip. Groups in pre-K-4 can use their senses to investigate the world around them; grades 1-12 can explore ecosystems and watersheds up close, using dip nets and analyzing water samples; grades 4-12 can become scientists and explore minerals, rocks, plate tectonics, and erosion firsthand for interactive geology lessons. High school students can engage in an authentic field research experience with the center’s Conservation in Flight. This new 2026 program puts students alongside professional bird banders to record scientific data, observe and investigate migration, and practice bird identification.
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