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48 Educational Field Trips in Arizona for Kids
One of the best things about Arizona is that there is always somewhere new to explore and something exciting to learn. From caves and canyons to wildlife, astronomy, mining, engineering, history, and plenty of unexpected stops in between, there is no shortage of ways to make learning part of the adventure.
Since Arizona was the 48th state to join the Union, we rounded up 48 of our favorite educational field trips in Arizona. Browse by region to find ideas close to home or plan your next trip across the state, or use the educational focus under each stop to find experiences that connect with what your kids are learning. Fair warning: your field trip wish list may get a lot longer.
A Quick Guide Before You Explore
Each destination includes an educational focus along with a few quick planning icons to help you find the experience that fits. Programs, availability, pricing, and booking requirements can change, so always visit the destination's official website for current details before planning your visit.
🎟️ Family Visit
Individual families can purchase admission or book an experience directly. The experience available to families may be different from a dedicated educational or group program.
👥 Group Program
A separate educational experience, tour, or group booking is available for organized groups.
💳 ESA Potential
Student admission may qualify as an ESA supplemental expense when supported by curriculum. The Arizona Department of Education makes the final determination, so always verify current requirements before purchasing.
📅 Discoveries Program
This destination is offered or may be offered through the Discoveries in the Desert public program schedule. Check our current schedule for availability.
📘 Discovery Unit
A Discoveries in the Desert educational unit that allows families to explore on their own schedule with student admission and standards aligned learning materials included. Discovery Units are coming soon.
Phoenix and Central Arizona
There is no shortage of educational field trips around the Valley, so we are keeping this section intentionally short. For even more local ideas, head over to our 15 Educational Field Trips in Phoenix for Kids.
1. Arizona Museum of Natural History | Mesa
Dinosaurs may get kids through the door, but there is much more to explore here. Fossils, prehistoric life, ancient cultures, geology, and Arizona history make this an easy destination to connect with several different subjects.
Educational focus: Paleontology, archaeology, geology, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
2. S'edav Va'aki Museum | Phoenix
Students can explore the remains of an ancestral village and learn how the Ancestral Sonoran Desert People farmed, built communities, and created sophisticated canal systems in the desert. It is an especially strong stop for connecting Arizona history with engineering and geography.
Educational focus: Arizona history, archaeology, engineering, and Indigenous cultures
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
3. Superstition Mountain Museum | Apache Junction
The legends may be what first catch your attention, but the real history of the Superstition Mountains gives families plenty to investigate. Mining, settlement, desert geography, and Arizona history all come together here.
Educational focus: Arizona history, mining, geography, and the Superstition Mountains
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
4. Canyon Lake and Dolly Steamboat | Tortilla Flat
See the desert from a completely different perspective while cruising through Canyon Lake. Towering canyon walls, desert wildlife, and a surprising amount of water make this a great place to explore geology, habitats, and the relationship between water and the desert.
Planning note: Canyon Lake is temporarily closed for scheduled dam safety work, and Dolly Steamboat operations are currently suspended. Check the official site for current access and sailing dates before planning your visit.
Educational focus: Geology, desert ecosystems, wildlife, and Arizona waterways
🎟️ Family Visit
5. iFLY Indoor Skydiving | Scottsdale
A wind tunnel may not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a physics lesson, which is part of what makes this one so much fun. Students can explore force, air resistance, gravity, and motion and then experience those concepts while flying.
The full STEM experience is designed for organized programs, so families looking for a structured educational visit can also check our current Discovery Program schedule to see when iFLY is available.
Educational focus: Physics, force, motion, gravity, and engineering
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 📅 Discoveries Program
6. Phoenix Herpetological Sanctuary | Scottsdale
Snakes, tortoises, crocodilians, and plenty of other reptiles create opportunities to investigate adaptations, habitats, classifications, and conservation. The sanctuary offers both public tours and educational group programs.
Educational focus: Reptiles, animal adaptations, ecosystems, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
7. Liberty Wildlife | Phoenix
Liberty Wildlife provides a closer look at native wildlife while introducing students to rehabilitation, conservation, and the adaptations that help Arizona animals survive. Educational visits can include birds of prey, reptiles, and other animal ambassadors.
Educational focus: Arizona wildlife, birds of prey, adaptations, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
If places like wind tunnels and boat rides were not what you expected to find on an educational field trip list, you may also like Arizona Field Trips: Finding Education in Unexpected Places.
Prescott, the Verde Valley and North Central Arizona
8. Sharlot Hall Museum | Prescott
Historic buildings, artifacts, and exhibits help students picture what life looked like during Arizona's territorial years. This is an especially useful stop for families studying Arizona history and the development of communities in the West.
Educational focus: Arizona history, territorial life, mining, and westward expansion
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
9. Heritage Park Zoological Sanctuary | Prescott
This wildlife sanctuary offers both general visits and educational programming for a wide range of ages. Students can explore Arizona wildlife, reptiles, food webs, animal behavior, and conservation through close observation.
Educational focus: Wildlife biology, animal adaptations, ecosystems, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
10. Museum of Indigenous People | Prescott
Explore Indigenous art, cultural materials, and history while learning about the people whose stories are deeply connected to Arizona and the Southwest. Guided educational programming is also available for homeschool groups and youth organizations.
Educational focus: Indigenous cultures, art, archaeology, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
11. Montezuma Castle National Monument and Montezuma Well | Camp Verde and Rimrock
These two sites pair beautifully. Montezuma Castle gives students an impressive look at architecture and community life, while Montezuma Well adds geology, ecosystems, and the importance of water in an arid environment.
Educational focus: Archaeology, Indigenous history, architecture, geology, and water
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
12. Tuzigoot National Monument | Clarkdale
Tuzigoot gives students another perspective on the communities that lived throughout the Verde Valley. Walking through the archaeological site helps connect architecture and human settlement directly to the surrounding landscape.
Educational focus: Archaeology, Indigenous history, architecture, and geography
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
13. Verde Canyon Railroad | Clarkdale
A train ride through a remote red rock canyon makes it easy to combine transportation history with geology, ecosystems, and wildlife. Sometimes the best way to study a landscape is to sit back and watch several miles of it roll past your window.
Educational focus: Transportation, engineering, geology, wildlife, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
14. Jerome State Historic Park | Jerome
Jerome offers a fascinating look at what happens when an industry shapes an entire community. Copper mining, geology, economic growth, and changing populations can all become part of the conversation.
Educational focus: Mining, geology, economics, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit
15. Out of Africa Wildlife Park | Camp Verde
Students can compare species, habitats, and behaviors while observing animals from around the world. Dedicated field trip options make this a strong choice for groups looking for a more structured wildlife experience.
Educational focus: Zoology, habitats, animal behavior, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
16. Bearizona Wildlife Park | Williams
Drive through a Ponderosa pine forest while observing North American wildlife, then continue exploring on foot. Bearizona creates natural opportunities to compare habitats, behaviors, adaptations, and conservation.
Bearizona will also be the first destination available through our upcoming Discovery Units, giving families another way to turn an individual visit into a complete educational experience.
Educational focus: North American wildlife, ecosystems, habitats, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential | 📘 Discovery Unit Coming Soon
17. Tonto Natural Bridge State Park | Pine
Sometimes the geology lesson is simply standing underneath something enormous and figuring out how it got there. Rock formations, flowing water, erosion, and changing landscapes are all on full display at Tonto Natural Bridge.
Educational focus: Geology, erosion, water, and ecosystems
🎟️ Family Visit
Flagstaff, Page, the Grand Canyon and Northeastern Arizona
18. Lowell Observatory | Flagstaff
Explore telescopes, astronomy, and the science behind studying our universe at the observatory where Pluto was discovered. Families can visit independently, while organized groups can choose from dedicated educational field trip options.
Educational focus: Astronomy, space science, physics, and the history of science
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
19. Walnut Canyon National Monument | Flagstaff
Cliff dwellings built into the canyon walls show how people adapted their homes and daily lives to the environment around them. Students can investigate both the human and natural history of the canyon while exploring the trails.
Educational focus: Archaeology, Indigenous history, geology, and ecology
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
20. Wupatki National Monument | Flagstaff Area
Wupatki protects thousands of ancestral sites across a dramatic high desert landscape. Pairing the archaeological ruins with the surrounding geography creates a strong opportunity to explore how people adapt to changing environments.
Educational focus: Indigenous history, archaeology, geography, and human adaptation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
21. Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument | Flagstaff Area
Lava flows, volcanic rock, and recovering ecosystems make this one of Arizona's best places to see earth science in action. It also pairs easily with nearby Wupatki for a full day of geology, history, and human adaptation.
Educational focus: Volcanology, geology, ecosystems, and ecological succession
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
22. Meteor Crater | Winslow
There is something wonderfully effective about standing beside a giant crater when you are trying to explain what happens when something from space collides with Earth. Students can explore impact science, meteorites, and the evidence scientists use to study events from long ago.
Educational focus: Earth science, astronomy, geology, and impact science
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
23. Grand Canyon National Park
Rock layers become a timeline and erosion becomes something students can actually see. The Grand Canyon can support lessons ranging from earth science and ecology to geography, history, and human relationships with the land.
Educational focus: Geology, erosion, ecosystems, geography, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
24. Petrified Forest National Park
Petrified wood may be the star of the show, but it is only part of the story. Students can explore ancient environments, fossils, modern grasslands, geology, and more than 13,000 years of human history.
Educational focus: Fossils, paleontology, geology, ecosystems, and Indigenous history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
25. Glen Canyon Dam and Carl Hayden Visitor Center | Page
The visitor center provides an excellent starting point for studying the enormous systems involved in managing water and producing hydroelectric power. Students can connect engineering and energy with bigger questions about water in the Southwest.
Educational focus: Engineering, hydrology, energy, and water resources
🎟️ Family Visit
26. Antelope Canyon | Page Area
The twisting sandstone walls make erosion much easier to understand than a diagram ever could. Because Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo Nation land and visits are guided, families also have an opportunity to learn about the people and culture connected to the landscape.
Educational focus: Geology, erosion, sandstone, and Navajo culture
🎟️ Family Visit
27. Horseshoe Bend | Page
Stand above a dramatic curve in the Colorado River and students can see exactly how water shapes landscapes over time. It is a simple stop with some very big geology.
Educational focus: Geology, erosion, river systems, and geography
🎟️ Family Visit
28. Grand Canyon Railway | Williams to the Grand Canyon
Instead of simply arriving at the Grand Canyon, make the transportation part of the lesson. The railway opens conversations about railroad history, engineering, tourism, and the role trains played in connecting communities across the West.
Educational focus: Transportation, engineering, geography, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
29. Float the Colorado River | Lees Ferry and Glen Canyon
Floating beneath enormous canyon walls gives students a perspective that cannot be replicated from an overlook. Geology, erosion, riparian ecosystems, and one of the Southwest's most important waterways are all right there around the boat.
Educational focus: Geology, river ecosystems, erosion, and water resources
🎟️ Family Visit
30. Canyon de Chelly National Monument | Chinle
Canyon de Chelly is especially powerful because its history is not confined to the past. Diné families continue to live, raise livestock, and farm within the canyon, while the landscape preserves evidence of thousands of years of human history.
Educational focus: Indigenous cultures, archaeology, agriculture, geology, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
Planning several stops around Arizona? Our 10 Arizona Field Trips That Turn a Family Vacation Into a Learning Adventure has even more ideas for connecting travel and learning.
White Mountains and Eastern Arizona
31. White Mountain Nature Center | Pinetop Lakeside
Arizona is much more than desert. The White Mountains give students a chance to explore high elevation forests, wildlife, and seasonal changes while comparing this ecosystem with other parts of the state.
Educational focus: Forest ecosystems, wildlife, habitats, and environmental science
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
32. Eastern Arizona College Discovery Park and Mount Graham International Observatory | Safford
Discovery Park combines science and outdoor exploration, while Mount Graham International Observatory gives visitors a look at major research telescopes and the science happening high above the desert. This is a great choice for students who want to see what scientific research actually looks like.
Educational focus: Astronomy, ecology, geology, and scientific research
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
Tucson and Southern Arizona
Southern Arizona could easily fill an entire field trip list on its own. From caves and astronomy to aviation, desert ecology, and mining history, there is a lot happening in this corner of the state.
33. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum | Tucson
Part zoo, part botanical garden, and part natural history experience, this is one of the best places to study the Sonoran Desert as one connected ecosystem. Students can explore how plants, animals, geology, and climate all influence one another.
Educational focus: Desert ecology, zoology, botany, geology, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
34. Biosphere 2 | Oracle
Walk through engineered environments while exploring how researchers study Earth's interconnected systems. Biosphere 2 makes big topics such as climate, sustainability, and ecosystems feel much more tangible.
Educational focus: Ecosystems, climate science, sustainability, and scientific research
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
35. Pima Air and Space Museum | Tucson
Aircraft give students an enormous amount to investigate, from the forces of flight to changing technology and transportation. Dedicated youth tours can also focus on aviation history and engineering.
Educational focus: Aviation, engineering, physics, technology, and history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
36. Titan Missile Museum | Green Valley
Older students can step inside a preserved Titan II missile site and examine the technology and global tensions of the Cold War. It is a very different way to approach United States history, engineering, and civics.
Educational focus: Cold War history, engineering, technology, and civics
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
37. Colossal Cave Mountain Park | Vail
This dry cave gives students a close look at cave formations and millions of years of geological processes. It also offers a useful contrast with Arizona's living cave systems.
Educational focus: Cave geology, earth science, Arizona history, and wildlife
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
38. Kartchner Caverns State Park | Benson
Kartchner Caverns provides another side of cave science. Its carefully protected living formations make it especially useful for discussing not only how caves form, but why fragile natural environments require thoughtful conservation.
Educational focus: Geology, cave science, conservation, and ecosystems
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
39. Saguaro National Park | Tucson
If your kids are studying desert adaptations, it is hard to beat standing among giant saguaros. Ranger led educational programs also cover topics ranging from desert ecology and archaeology to mathematics and scientific field studies.
Educational focus: Sonoran Desert ecology, plant adaptations, wildlife, and conservation
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
40. Tombstone and Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park
Look beyond the famous Wild West stories and Tombstone becomes a fascinating place to investigate what life, law, and government actually looked like in territorial Arizona.
Educational focus: Arizona territorial history, law, government, and westward expansion
🎟️ Family Visit
41. Bisbee Mining Experience | Bisbee
Make this a full day. Tour the Copper Queen Mine, visit the Bisbee Mining and Historical Museum, and explore the historic downtown and Copper Queen Hotel. Together, they tell a much bigger story about how copper shaped Arizona communities, jobs, technology, and growth.
Educational focus: Mining, geology, engineering, economics, and Arizona history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
42. Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium | Tucson
Located at the University of Arizona, Flandrau combines science exhibits with planetarium experiences for families interested in astronomy, earth science, and space.
Educational focus: Astronomy, earth science, and STEM
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
43. Kitt Peak National Observatory | Tucson Area
Kitt Peak gives students a closer look at how astronomers observe the universe and why southern Arizona has become such an important center for astronomical research. Public program availability can change, so check current visitor information before making the trip.
Educational focus: Astronomy, telescopes, physics, and scientific research
🎟️ Family Visit
44. Chiricahua National Park | Willcox Area
Towering rock formations make this one of Arizona's most unusual landscapes and an incredible place to explore volcanism and erosion. Educational programs also connect the geology with habitats, wildlife, and regional history.
Educational focus: Geology, volcanism, erosion, biodiversity, and history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
Western Arizona and Wickenburg
45. Vulture City Ghost Town | Wickenburg
Vulture City grew around one of Arizona's most productive gold mines. Preserved buildings and mining history allow students to see how natural resources can create jobs, communities, and economic growth and what happens when those industries change.
Educational focus: Mining, Arizona history, economics, and community development
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program | 💳 ESA Potential
46. Lake Havasu City and London Bridge
Yes, that really is the London Bridge in the Arizona desert. The original bridge was dismantled in England, transported to Arizona, and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, creating one of the state's strangest and most memorable connections to world history and engineering.
Educational focus: World history, engineering, transportation, and Arizona geography
🎟️ Family Visit
47. Hoover Dam | Arizona and Nevada Border
Arizona has to share this one with Nevada, but it deserves a place on the list. Students can explore how moving water produces electricity, how massive engineering projects are constructed, and how one dam changed the development of the Southwest.
Educational focus: Engineering, hydrology, electricity, and United States history
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
48. Colorado River State Historic Park | Yuma
Yuma's relationship with the Colorado River creates an excellent opportunity to explore transportation, irrigation, agriculture, and the role water has played in Arizona's development.
Educational focus: Colorado River history, transportation, irrigation, and Arizona development
🎟️ Family Visit | 👥 Group Program
Want to Add a Little More Learning? If you are exploring one of these destinations on your own, it does not take an elaborate lesson plan to make the experience more educational. Our How to Turn a 1 Hour Outing Into a Full Learning Experience guide has a few simple ideas you can use almost anywhere.
Make Learning an Adventure
Found a few places you want to explore? That is exactly what Discoveries in the Desert is here for.
Join one of our Discovery Programs for a carefully planned field trip with standards aligned curriculum and activities included.
Or bring your co op, microschool, learning pod, youth group, student organization, or other educational community along for a Custom Group Program designed around your students.
During school breaks, STEM Discovery Week gives kids the chance to spend several days exploring, learning, and making new friends.
And soon, Discovery Units will make even more destinations across Arizona available to individual families on their own schedule, with the educational pieces already built in.
However you explore, we hope you find somewhere new, learn something exciting, and come along with us for the adventure!
