Enter America’s Living Laboratory
Virginia’s concentration of historic sites is famed, but its educational value extends well beyond American history. Students can explore 17th-century life through living history experiences, take on engineering challenges at a major science center, observe and interpret world-class artworks, learn about the Civil War from multiple perspectives, and learn about marine technology in Norfolk. Several institutions offer field trip groups, with guided and self-guided options, standards-aligned programs, and educational resources to help educators connect classroom learning with in-person experiences.
Planning a student trip? Download the latest issue of Student Travel Pro for expert insights, top destinations, and essential planning tips — and for more field trip ideas, visit the Virginia field trips profile page-all for free!
“VMFA’s expansive permanent fine arts collection lets groups pair art with subjects ranging from global cultures and ancient civilizations to American history and contemporary society.”
Jamestown Settlement (Williamsburg)
Student groups can explore early Virginia history at Jamestown Settlement, which offers museum galleries and interactive living history environments. Guided tours take kindergarten through college students on a learning journey with costumed interpreters through the reconstructed Paspahegh town, James Fort, and ships that explore 17th-century daily life. Visitors can compare the interactions and experiences of the Powhatan peoples, West Central Africans, and English colonists as they examine artifacts and reconstructed places for tangible connections to textbook lessons.
Science Museum of Virginia (Richmond)
At the Science Museum of Virginia, grade-specific programs offer educators options to build a bespoke experience tailored around classroom lessons. Programs for grades K-2 include weather elements and science, while grades 3-5 can compare climate and weather using NOAA’s six-foot Science on a Sphere exhibit. Middle and high school groups can explore Earth science and extreme weather as they witness atmospheric systems on a giant animated globe. Live science demonstrations, engineering challenge labs, design workshops, and educator-led experiences are tailored to grade levels and complement the museum’s hands-on exhibits, makerspaces, Dome programs, and astronomy offerings, all supporting Virginia learning standards.
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond)
Kindergarten through high school groups can explore world-class exhibits and learn through observation, interpretation, and inquiry at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Docent-guided tours encourage students to examine artworks up close, ask questions, and use visual evidence to make interpretations. Educator-directed field trips allow teachers to shape experiences around their curriculum for direct connections to classroom learning. VMFA’s expansive permanent fine arts collection lets groups pair art with subjects ranging from global cultures and ancient civilizations to American history and contemporary society. Youth groups can learn through identifying materials, symbols, patterns, and visual stories. At the same time, middle and high school students are encouraged to consider topics such as cultural exchange, power, identity, and the historical context of artworks. The museum offers educational resources and pre-visit materials to help groups prepare before arrival and lay the groundwork for close observation and conversation.
American Civil War Museum – Historic Tredegar (Richmond)
Students in grades 4-12 can step into the role of historians at the American Civil War Museum at Historic Tredegar. Through educator-led programs, groups learn history through authentic artifacts, reproductions, and primary-source documents that explore the human experiences of the Civil War.
Students can learn about different aspects of history, including soldier enlistment, camp life, loading a Civil War rifle, wartime disease and advances in medical care, the Tredegar Iron Works, Civil War prisons, emancipation, and other relevant lessons. Educational programs are aligned with Virginia learning standards, and student group admission includes one guided youth program.
Nauticus (Norfolk)
For educators seeking impressive grade-by-grade maritime STEM programs, Nauticus offers one of the state’s most comprehensive offerings for elementary, middle, and high school groups. Young learners can explore biology and Earth science up close through interactive activities covering animal habitats and life cycles, plus hands-on water molecule experiments. Middle school students can conduct water quality tests, species surveys, and study lighthouse lenses to learn about light reflection and refraction. Other programs let students test bridge-and-tunnel models, explore environmental science, collaborate on engineering challenges, and learn about Navy weather specialists, the instruments they build, and data collection for weather forecasting. Student programs typically last 45 minutes, align with Virginia learning standards, and can be paired with self-guided experiences at the museum and battleship
Make every student trip unforgettable! Sign up for our free newsletter and get travel inspiration, budgeting tips, and expert planning resources.
