Custom Group Field Trips in Arizona: Educational Programs Built Around Your Studen

Planning group field trips in Arizona for a homeschool co op, microschool, youth group or student organization often starts with one question: Where should we go?

But I think there is a better place to start.

What are your students’ interests?

Do they love animals? Are they fascinated by science and engineering? Would they rather spend the day outside, try something adventurous or explore a piece of Arizona history? Once you start with the students instead of the destination, field trips can look completely different.

A group interested in physics might love racing go karts or trying indoor skydiving. A group that loves being outside might explore aquatic ecosystems while kayaking. Another group may be more interested in horses, Arizona geography, animals, history or problem solving. Starting with what excites your students opens up a lot more possibilities than starting with a traditional list of field trip destinations.

Build the Experience Around Your Group

Every group is different, which means there really is not one perfect field trip for everyone. A homeschool co op with students ranging from kindergarten through high school has very different needs from a middle school STEM group. A microschool may want an experience that connects to something students are already studying, while a youth organization may be looking for something active that also gives students an opportunity to work together.

When planning homeschool co op field trips or microschool field trips, the ages and interests of the students can completely change what makes an experience successful. Before choosing a destination, think about the students who will actually be participating. What are their ages? What are they interested in? Do they prefer active experiences or opportunities to slow down and investigate? How far is your group willing to travel? Is there a particular subject you would like to explore?

You do not necessarily need to have the destination figured out first. Sometimes knowing that your students love animals, engineering, Arizona history or being outdoors is enough to start finding some really interesting possibilities.

Education Can Happen Almost Anywhere

One of my favorite things about field trips is that a place does not need to call itself educational for learning to happen there.

Go kart racing can lead to conversations about force, motion, friction and engineering. Kayaking can become an opportunity to investigate aquatic ecosystems, geology and Arizona water resources. Bowling and laser tag have natural connections to physics, math and technology. Horseback experiences can introduce animal science, geography and Arizona history.

The same idea works almost anywhere. Look at what students will be doing, seeing and experiencing, and ask, What can we learn here?

That one question can completely change the way you look at potential educational field trips in Arizona. Instead of being limited to museums, zoos and traditional educational venues, lakes, farms, racetracks, adventure experiences and plenty of unexpected places can become meaningful learning environments too.

Think Beyond the Day of the Field Trip

A great field trip does not have to begin when students arrive at the venue or end when everyone heads home.

A little preparation before the experience can make a big difference. Students might learn a few key vocabulary words, investigate a question they will be able to answer during the trip or make a prediction about something they are going to observe. Afterward, they can use what they experienced to complete an experiment, solve a problem, research something that sparked their curiosity or connect the experience to another subject.

It does not need to mean adding hours of extra work. The goal is simply to give students enough background to understand what they are experiencing and enough opportunity afterward to keep exploring the parts that interested them most.

Making Unique Experiences Work for ESA Families

For Arizona homeschool groups, there is another important piece to consider. Many co ops and microschools are perfectly capable of contacting a venue and organizing a group outing. The harder part can be turning a nontraditional experience into a complete educational program that works for families using ESA funding.

There may be incredible science happening at a racetrack, lake or adventure course, but the educational connection still needs to be intentionally developed. This is where on site instruction, curriculum connections and clearly defined educational objectives can turn an exciting group outing into a much more comprehensive learning experience.

Discoveries in the Desert can build that educational component around nontraditional group experiences, and eligible programs can be paid using ESA funds through Discoveries in the Desert as a ClassWallet Direct Pay vendor. This gives groups more freedom to consider experiences their students will genuinely enjoy instead of limiting their options to venues that already offer a traditional educational program.

How We Can Help

Sometimes you have a great idea but do not have the time to coordinate everything that comes with it. Other times, you have the group but no idea where to start.

For groups looking for custom field trips in Arizona, Discoveries in the Desert can help with as much or as little of the process as needed. That may include researching options, coordinating with the venue, making reservations, communicating with families, managing rosters and handling individual invoicing and payments.

If the experience needs a stronger educational component, on site instruction or complete curriculum can also be added and connected to applicable Arizona Academic Standards. A venue with a strong educational program may only need coordination, while something like kayaking, racing or an adventure experience may benefit from instruction designed specifically around what students will be doing.

The goal is not to make every program look the same. It is to create the experience that makes sense for your students and your group.

Planning Your Next Arizona Group Field Trip

Arizona is full of possibilities. There are lakes, farms, museums, historic sites, animal experiences, racetracks and adventures that might not look like educational field trips at first glance.

So instead of beginning your next planning session with “Where should we go?”, try starting somewhere else.

What are our students interested in? What would they be excited to experience? And what could they learn while they are there?

You may end up somewhere you never would have found on a traditional field trip list.

And that might be exactly what makes it memorable.