New York Education Spots: Best Field Trip Locations

New York City is one of the most culturally rich, educationally stimulating cities in the world. As an educator, your goal may be to bring some of that richness into your classroom. While you're in charge of the everyday experience of your students, there are lots of places that can provide outside enrichment in a fun and challenging atmosphere. Your students will learn from and remember the excitement of going on field trips, but you and your administration will know that you're also giving them experiences that will last. Many of the venues listed below cater to the New York State Education Department's Common Core curriculum and have programs designed to enhance your classroom lessons.

Museums & Galleries

• Jewish Museum Dedicated to understanding and preservation of artistic and cultural heritage of the Jewish people.
• American Folk Art Museum Devoted to traditional folk and outsider art; includes work by Henry Darger, Mart�n Ram�rez, Bill Traylor, Eugene Von Bruenchenhein and others.
• Museum of Modern Art Provides one- or multi-part programs designed for K-12 students to look at and discuss modern art and think critically. MoMA also provides workshops, resources and online videos for teachers and students.
• Ukrainian Museum Acquires, preserves, exhibits and interprets articles of artistic or historic significance to Ukrainians.
• Dahesh Museum of Art Collects, exhibits and interprets the work of Europe's academically trained artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Programs for tours and workshops, also multi-session visits and professional development; programs focus on art, English-language arts, social studies and technology.
• Children's Museum of the Arts Group visits can include controlling paint media and brushes; experimenting with colors, textures and shapes; drawing tools and using lines and color to convey expression.
• Lower East Side Tenement Museum Students can see how we find out about people, places and events by learning from objects, primary source documents and oral histories.
• Museum of Chinese in the Americas 75-minute programs reinforce NYS Social Studies Core Curriculum concepts regarding the history, heritage, culture and experiences of people of Chinese descent who live in the U.S.
• American Museum of Natural History Permanent and special exhibitions, IMAX films and space shows.
• Children's Museum of Manhattan Artist-educators use artifacts, artist materials and skills to teach students through programs and workshops.
• The Neustadt Museum of Tiffany Art Presents and promotes the artwork of Louis C. Tiffany, creator of Tiffany lamps, windows, glass and other objects.
• International Center of Photography Demonstrates the possibilities of photography through historical and contemporary work.
• Grey Art Gallery Late 19th- and 20th-century work that includes Picasso's Bust of Sylvette and Joseph Cornell's Chocolat Menier. Specifically, the collection includes American painting from the 1940s to present, as well as modern Asian and Middle Eastern art.
• Dia Center for the Arts Contemporary art institution with various sites throughout the city.
• New Museum of Contemporary Art Contemporary art connected to local, global and cultural issues.
• Frick Collection Masterpieces of European painting, sculpture and 19th-century French furniture and porcelains, Old Master and 19th-century work on paper, Limoges enamels and porcelains.
• Whitney Museum of American Art: 20th century and contemporary American art that focuses on living artists.
• The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design and Culture Graduate research institute that offers a master of arts degree and a doctor of philosophy degree, with publicly available viewing galleries.
• South Street Seaport Museum Objects, maps and images students can use to learn about New Amsterdam, a Dutch colony trading post in the early 17th century.
• Skyscraper Museum Explores the design, technology and sites of New York's tallest buildings.
• Jersey City Museum Exhibits the work of contemporary artists who represent diversity of cultural life in Jersey City, Hudson County, N.J., and the region.
• New York Transit Museum Guided school programs show social history of New York City, the engineering sciences, mathematics and art of subway and station design; history of immigration and the urban landscape.
• Liberty Science Center Field trips involve interactive exhibits including rock wall climbing, walking on narrow steel beams 18 feet high, testing structures in high-speed wind tunnel, examining sea creatures, colorful tiny poison dart frogs, 10-geyser water blasts, crawl-through pitch-black Touch Tunnel and digital graffiti.
• Brooklyn Children's Museum Created in 1899 as the first museum specifically for children. Programs and self-guided exploration available.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art Museum and library of art to encourage and develop the study of fine arts and the application of arts to manufacturing and practical life.
• Jewish Children's Museum Using contemporary technology and hands-on tools, visitors can experience Jewish history, values and traditions.
• Guggenheim Museum Soho 50,000 square feet of galleries, public areas, retail space and offices.
• New York Hall of Science Hands-on science and technology center.

Other notable destinations

• Radio City Music Hall Take a behind-the-scenes tour of Radio City Music Hall, explore theater, lounges and corridors and meet a Rockette.
• Center for Architecture Foundation Educational programs for K-12 students promote understanding of and appreciation for architecture and design.
• Central Park Zoo (Wildlife Center) Range of programs designed to enhance science curricula and encourage appreciation of wildlife.
• Metropolitan Opera Guild Music and art education programs.
• New York Historical Society Research and art exhibits demonstrate political, cultural and social history.
• The New York Botanical Garden Tours, resources, workshops, walks and programs.
• Prospect Park Zoo with interactive Discovery Center and live animal encounters.
• Bronx Zoo Learn about wildlife habitats through interactive programs.