Field Trip Planning Made Easy: Practical Tips Museums Can Offer Teachers

As students head back to school, teachers everywhere are busy planning lessons, activities, and—you guessed it—field trips. Museums are some of the most powerful classrooms outside of school walls. Some of my best school memories are of museum field trips, and I also now have great memories chaperoning my kids’ field trips. However, these great experiences require a lot from teachers who are already overwhelmed and overworked. Planning a successful museum field trip requires time, coordination, and a significant amount of paperwork (and also money, but that’s a whole other blog post).

That’s where your museum can shine! By offering tools, guidance, and options, you make teachers’ lives easier and create experiences that spark curiosity and encourage repeat visits.

Here are three practical ways your museum can support teachers this fall and beyond:

1. Build a Teacher Resource Page for Field-Trip Planning

One of the best ways to start is by giving teachers a one-stop shop for everything they need. A Teacher Resources section on your website makes planning smoother and positions your museum as a true partner in learning.

This page could include downloadable guides, lesson-plan templates, chaperone tips, curriculum connections, and pre- and post-visit activities.

Here are a few great examples:

• Exploratorium (San Francisco) offers a student planning page, chaperone tips (in multiple languages), grade-level guides, scavenger-hunt templates, and “Juicy Questions” to spark curiosity and deepen engagement.

• Field Museum (Chicago) provides structured guides like Exhibition Investigation, Artifact Observation, and Specimen Observation. These are all designed to complement classroom learning.

• Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (Los Angeles) shares grade-specific Scavenger Hunts and exhibition-linked lesson plans (e.g., “What Is a Mammal?”, “Mystery Mammal”) that connect directly to curricular goals.

A well-curated teacher page shows thoughtfulness, saves teachers time, and makes your museum more accessible and “field-trip ready.”

2. Include Virtual Field Trip Options for Remote or Hybrid Learning

You wouldn’t believe how much transportation costs for schools to get their students to your museum! Virtual field trips broaden access for schools that can’t travel, create excitement before a visit, and keep students connected afterward.

One great example I found:

• The Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge, MA) launched a free virtual field-trip program that includes immersive storytelling, lesson plans, research materials, and narrations in multiple languages.

Even better? Bundle your virtual offerings with on-site experiences. For example: “Start with our virtual tour, then plan your visit for hands-on exploration!”

3. Share Field-Trip Best Practices for Teachers to Use Before, During, and After Visits

And once teachers are on site, practical tips can make visits smoother and more impactful for everyone.

Simple guidance can help teachers maximize the educational value of their trip while giving students structure and freedom to explore.

• Edutopia emphasizes offering structure plus choice—layered visits that balance autonomy with guided discovery keep students engaged and curious.

• The Art Fund’s guide for teachers recommends tying visits to curriculum plans, choosing between self-guided or museum-led sessions, leveraging object-based learning, and planning well in advance (sometimes 8–12 months ahead) to handle logistics smoothly.

By sharing these best practices, your museum positions itself as an educational ally, not just a place to visit, but a partner in teaching.

Why This Matters

When you make field-trip planning easier, you’re not just supporting teachers, you’re building stronger relationships, sparking curiosity, and opening doors for students to connect with your museum in meaningful ways. Those connections often lead to lifelong appreciation for museums and repeat visits with families and friends.

Supporting teachers doesn’t have to be complicated. A simple resource hub, a few virtual options, and some practical planning tips can transform your museum into a trusted classroom partner.

✨ Want more ideas to help your museum attract and engage visitors?

Download my free ebook Getting Visitors Through Your Museum’s Doors and discover strategies to strengthen community connection, boost attendance, and keep visitors coming back.