steam field trips los angeles

BE ADVISED: Due to nearby events on Friday, June 7, parking and traffic around the Natural History Museum may be impacted. Parking for First Fridays is available at the Blue Visitor Parking Structure, located at 39th St and Fugueroa St in Exposition Park. Please plan your visit accordingly, and consider riding the Metro E (Expo) Line and exiting at USC/Expo station.

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Field trips.

Inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility for our natural and cultural worlds with a field trip to the Natural History Museum!

Visit the Natural History Museum on a field trip!  Explore our exhibit halls, get up-close-and-personal with specimens and artifacts, and experience our museums with your students. Self-guided field trips to the Natural History Museum are free for California Pre K–12 public or private school groups. See below for information on how to book your visit!

Please note: Due to construction for the future NHM Commons, the South Entrance of the Museum is closed . Students and teachers will be redirected to enter at the East Gate Entrance (located off of the Rotunda across from the Rose Garden). Please see our Field Trip Parking and Bus Drop-Off map for specific directions.

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Field Trips to La Brea Tar Pits

Witness discoveries made daily at the largest active urban paleontological site in the world!

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Explore the Hands-on Activities

Chemistry ​

• Mix up your favorite ingredients and discover your sense of taste ​

Paleontology ​

• Dig for fossils at the dig pit ​
• Climb on board the Jeep and explore a dig site ​
• Meet a baby triceratops ​
• Explore the Pangea landscape ​

Shine it Up!

• Unearth the brilliance of gems and crystals ​
• Collect a handful of sand at the sand wall ​
• Investigate the beauty of light at the crystal cave ​

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Rocket Science ​

• Design, build, launch and race your rocket in The Competition Zone ​
• Engineer a spacecraft vehicle ​
• Design a paper airplane design and flight test ​

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Engineering ​

• Design a giant ball run on the magnetic wall ​

Shake It Up

Seismology ​

• Build a structure and test its strength ​
• Discover your seismic activity wave ​

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Los Angeles, CA

LA STEM is a unique collective of more than 50 STEM organizations that first came together in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, providing high-quality STEM learning experiences, opportunities, and resources for area students. Since then, the LA STEM Collective has created and cultivated a dynamic, ongoing, and responsive ecosystem: an intersection of education, industry, and community-based organizations. Our mission is for all learners to become creative, critical thinkers and doers.

Key Articles

Dozens of STEM Organizations Work to Offer Free Access to Enriching Out-Of-School Time Programs for Thousands of L.A. Area Youth this Summer

Los Angeles, CA (April 14, 2022) – An unprecedented collaboration of over 40 local educational organizations is kicking off plans for free programming for LA children and youth this summer and beyond. Having worked together since Summer 2020, these organizations have already served coordinated programming to over 100,000 youth in partnership with regional school districts and community-based organizations. With recent seed funding from the Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation, the Adams Legacy Foundation, and the National League of Cities, the group is now also able to announce its establishment as the  LA STEM Collective  as it gears up for summer.

The LA STEM Collective represents one of the largest mobilizations of out-of-school time (OST) learning programs in Southern California, and includes a growing list of large museums, universities and nimble non-profits. The goal of the newly formalized organization is to optimize program delivery to the hundreds of thousands of children and youth in Los Angeles, with a focus on opening access to OST learning for all, and emphasizing providing opportunities for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) from traditionally marginalized communities.

“The peer support from participating in the [LA STEM Collective] has led to increased collaboration with fellow STEM providers and meeting broader communities of young learners which had been particularly valuable during these past couple of challenging years,” reports Laurel Robinson, Director of Programs of the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County.

This new organization will serve as the “hub” of the Los Angeles regional STEM Ecosystem, pulling together providers of OST learning, aka Expanded Learning, as well as other stakeholders including industry leaders, civic groups, school districts, after-school program providers and community-based organizations. Standing as a centralized intermediary organization, the new entity will coordinate communication, programming, funding, promotion and training across member organizations.

“The STEM Learning Ecosystems have changed communities and the lives of Americans. We’ve done this by good old-fashioned hard work, by collaboration and by recognizing that STEM is the way to solve our nation’s grandest of challenges,” said Jan Morrison, founder and chief executive officer of TIES the backbone organization for the national STEM Learning Ecosystems. With the new LA STEM Collective, Los Angeles can now count itself as part of this national network.

The LA STEM Collective also will facilitate and streamline funding opportunities for large-scale initiatives, working across the region and providing a platform for smaller organizations to access funds and incubating emerging organizations. “Being part of [the Collective] has helped us not only learn from other mission-aligned organizations to create more engaging experiences, but also provided us with the opportunity to deliver programming to communities that we’ve never worked with before, amplifying our impact,” said Kay Yang of member organization Tinker the Robot about how participation in the LA STEM Collective has helped them build operational capacity.

This summer, the LA STEM Collective will focus on serving youth in LA County who are still recovering from the pandemic-related disruptions of their school and home lives. The LA STEM Collective will leverage its established relationships with LAUSD and dozens of community-based organizations to provide experiences that center social-emotional learning and identity development along with STEM skills and subjects. Member organizations stand ready to connect LA’s young people to rare artifacts, working professionals and compelling learning through field trips and outreach programming wherever the students are this summer.

Before becoming the LA STEM Collective, the group coordinated programming in response to COVID-related disruptions in the education of LA’s students. Since 2020, members of the Collective have continuously provided free, live online and in-person programs to LAUSD and community-based organizations, including in-class and after-school programs, enrichment courses, field trips, and access to resources for teachers. As a sign of its success, LAUSD recently contracted the Collective to provide after school enrichment programming through Summer 2023.

“The program our girls had with the Natural History Museums Performing Arts team was not one they have every day– it was educational, intimate, and interactive. The intimacy of the program allowed them to connect even more to the content and we saw that by the number of questions they asked during the program– they were engaged the whole time,” said Monica Garcia, Director of Programs at Girasoles en Marcha (GEM) who received a program in 2021.

Start-up funds are enabling the Collective to hire support staff, define its operations, and engage in long-term planning. The Collective has engaged DoGoodery, a consulting agency, to help launch the organization with strategic planning and branding.

Membership in the LA STEM Collective is growing everyday. Current organizations have a significant impact on the life of Greater Los Angeles. They represent nearly $200 million in operations with over 2000 employees and annual visitorship of over 6 million. The LA STEM Collective is growing out of the work of several network-building initiatives in Southern California, all with significant overlap in membership and goals. The new organization merges the existing SoCal ISE group and the LA STEM Hub formerly led by the LA Chamber of Commerce and now led by the USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center.

Ben Dickow, Chair

Darin Gray, Ed.D. Vice Chair

Madeline Stewart, Ecosystem Manager

[email protected]

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Outdoor Field Trips

Learn more about potential outdoor education field trips in the Los Angles Area.

Harbor Regional Park

Sepulveda Basin

Science Cube Los Angeles

Kenneth Hahn Regional Park

Vazquez Rocks

Madrona Marsh

Lopez Canyon Environmental Educational Center

Other outdoor education sites in greater Los Angeles Area:

LAUSD Outdoor Education site

Beyond the Bell and other outdoor opportunities

Outdoor Science School

Outward Bound California opportunities

Outdoors for all Sierra Club campaign

S.T.E.M. Field Trips

A unique educational opportunity.

When students comes to Kids world, they will reinforce and boost their learning by experiencing real-world application of STEM concepts. Students will learn about how science, math and technology can be combined to create a business centered on entertainment!

In addition to a tour of the facility and other mechanical elements, students will get to see STEM principles in action as they play on a four-story play structure, play basketball in a non-conventional space, play with foam ball cannons, and play with huge, plastic bumper balls. Students will also have the opportunity to engage investigative, inquiring, and critical thinking skills through written activities that cover topics such as:

• Simple machines
• The properties of gravity
• The properties of various gasses
• Newtonian Physics
• Engineering functional design

All whilst finding about how the control of gravity, air and other principles at the core of STEM courses are incorporated into the design and function of the various attractions at Kids World.

STEM field trips to Kids world are thrilling and entertaining!

Quality, hot food packages available upon request!

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Los Angeles Unified

Local organizations bring STEM programs to Los Angeles Unified

The l.a. stem collective includes museums, aquariums and more from across los angeles county..

Kate Sequeira

July 1, 2022.

Students across Los Angeles Unified are participating in programming from a group of museums, aquariums and STEM organizations from across L.A. County this summer. From learning about engineering with Tinker the Robot to tackling marine life with the Aquarium of the Pacific, students are able to explore a variety of STEM topics.

Having started with 12 organizations in 2020, the group has now grown to more than 40 and has officially established itself as the LA STEM Collective as it heads into its third summer of programming. The group is now hosting a mix of virtual and in-person enrichment for LAUSD and at parks across Los Angeles.

“It’s been a lot of work, but it’s a really great thing,” said Ben Dickow, who leads the L.A. STEM Collective and is president of the Columbia Memorial Space Center. “I think we see time and time again that this sort of organization that we’ve been building is needed.”

The LA STEM Collective first joined together as schools scrambled to adapt to virtual learning amid the pandemic. Its organizations coordinated enrichment to support California’s largest school district by adapting their own educational opportunities for summer and after-school learning for the district. Hosted by the Wildwoods , which conducts nature-based programs, the collective is contracted by LAUSD to provide summer and after-school programming through summer 2023 for elementary and middle school students.

UCLA professor John Rogers said that though groups like the collective aren’t common, he’s not surprised to see the organizations come together since they have a common goal. He said it’s reflective of that push across groups within the county to provide extra resources in the wake of the pandemic.

“Schools and communities are stronger when a number of different organizations in the broader community are linked and linked in meaningful ways with schools, so that they’re extending the sorts of learning experiences that young people can have,” he said.

Funded in part by Great Public Schools Now, ​​the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Adams Legacy Foundation and the National League of Cities, the LA STEM Collective is looking to grow both its offerings and impact. Dickow, as well as some of the organizations that have been involved since the beginning, hope to continue to see growth as they expand their reach across LAUSD and beyond.

“In some ways, you know, we were so wrapped up into responding to crisis that now’s the time for us to take a deep breath, look around and say, ‘OK, now we can actually have a little bit more method,’” Dickow said.

For director of advancement Robin Aube of AltaSea , which has been with the collective since the initiative began, it’s been rewarding to see students flourish as they’ve gone on virtual field trips with the institute, from the port of Los Angeles to Catalina to the port of San Diego and everywhere in between. The institute had to initially adapt to the virtual environment of the pandemic, which was ultimately successful and has continued, she said. Its elementary- and middle-school-age students were more than excited to see what the staff had put together for them.

“Sometimes they just hit it off, and they’re very talkative, and then they have lots of comments, which, of course, makes it fun,” Aube said.

“Shark week and whale week are always a hit,” she added.

AltaSea, which supports ocean sustainability for future generations, filmed much of the footage they used in the fall of 2020 and combined that with YouTube videos and interviews they did over Zoom with other science organizations as well as people working at the ports, Aube said. Each summer and semester brings new ideas as AltaSea tries to implement learning in conjunction with current oceanic challenges.

“I think, all the STEM organizations involved, we just have such an abundance of resources,” she said. “It’s wonderful that we can offer those kids something that maybe they wouldn’t get a chance to experience.”

Aube said being a part of the LA STEM Collective has been a great opportunity for collaboration across organizations. She’s seen students draw connections between the information presented by AltaSea and some of the other organizations. The content complements each other, she said.

That level of collaboration is something Tinker the Robot has also enjoyed and is hoping to continue to grow since joining the collective in the spring. Founder and CEO Kay Yang said the organization is hoping to collaborate with the Los Angeles Maritime Institute to combine its ocean focus with Tinker the Robot’s engineering focus to create a program around biomimicry. The ocean life would influence the engineering design, she said.

Tinker the Robot’s current programming takes an opposite approach to engineering than what is typical, Yang said. The students do the build first, and the organization uses the surrounding excitement to teach the concepts. The organization has most recently worked with middle schoolers through the collective but has adapted programming to students as young as third grade and is hoping to go as young as kindergarten.

“Kids love getting their hands dirty. Building, they love tinkering, they love seeing lights flash, robots move — all of that,” Yang said.

It was tricky adapting some of that to a virtual environment while keeping it engaging, but ultimately worth it, she said. They’ve been hosting both virtual and in-person programs.

At Aquarium of the Pacific , education programs manager Alicia Archer said she doesn’t believe the aquarium will be getting rid of the virtual programming anytime soon since it’s allowed greater access for the elementary and middle schoolers involved, who are spread out across the county. Being part of the LA STEM Collective proved exciting at a time when interaction was limited, and that’s stayed constant, she said.

“We are able to really tailor the program to be interactive and be a conversation with our students,” she said. “When we first started connecting, all the students were just kind of getting used to the Zoom world. Now, they are pros. The students — even the younger students — can jump in to chat, and they share their ideas.”

The aquarium has primarily focused on learning science through art as they’ve drawn and done arts and crafts centered around different animals and ecosystems. It also integrated webcam views of the animals.

With support across the LA STEM Collective, it’s allowed everyone to grow together as they develop programming and figure out what’s best for the students, Archer said. That’s been one of her biggest takeaways since joining in 2020 and one echoed both by Aube and Yang.

“It’s been wonderful, you learned so much,” Archer said. “I think it really shows when we get together and we start talking practice, it really shows the strength of a collective like this.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Wildwoods' approach to programming.

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FIELD trips

Cayton summer field trips.

Add more play to your camp days with a one-of-a-kind experience. At the Cayton Children’s Museum, summer play becomes an extraordinary adventure, where children connect with the arts and each other in an immersive play experience.

Our field trips, available for students from infancy through 3rd grade can be tailored to your need. 

Choose from guided or open-play field trips across a wide range of engaging lessons that cater to the needs, interests, sizes, ages and focus of your program.

Participating Students

Age Range: Infant to 3rd grade

Guided Field Trips

40-minute lesson featuring story time and a related process-based activity facilitated by a dedicated member of our museum team

10 students (minimum) – 40 students (maximum)

Wednesdays–Fridays, 10AM–Noon

$12 per student, 12 Chaperones complimentary

1:5 adult-to-student ratio required

$15 per additional adult

Open-Play Field Trips

Two hours of museum exploration

20 students (minimum) – 100 students (maximum)

Wednesdays–Sundays, 10AM–Noon or 1–3PM

$10 per student, 20 Chaperones complimentary

For more information, email [email protected] .

Field T rips at the Cayton

Turn your school day into a one-of-a-kind experience! At the Cayton Children’s Museum, we believe that learning should be an extraordinary adventure, where children connect with the arts, the world, and, most importantly, each other.

Infant-Toddler (0–2 years)

School Age (6-8)

Our field trips, available for students from infancy through 3rd grade, extend classroom learning, equipping students with the foundational tools for success while aligning with California Common Core standards, Visual and Performance Art standards, and California Preschool Foundation standards.

Educators can tailor the experience to their classrooms, choosing from a wide range of engaging lessons that cater to the needs, interests, sizes, ages, and focus of their students.

For Specific Program Options, please select the age group of the students you teach from the options below:

Preschool (3–5 years)

All school groups require a ratio of 1 adult to 5 students (1:3 ratio for infant and toddler ages)

Supported by scientific research, our tailored programs provide the transformational and lifelong benefits of abundant, creative, and purposeful play specifically addressing children's cognitive, emotional, and social development.

Age Range: Infant to 3rd-grade students

Group Size: Minimum of 10 students, Maximum of 40 students

1 adult to 5 children ratio (Maximum of 20 students and 1:3 ratio for infant and toddler ages)

Availability

In-person field trips are available during the school year from September to June , on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays .

Field Trips are only available from 10AM - 12PM . 

The Experience

In-person field trips include: ​.

40-minute lesson featuring story time and a related process-based activity facilitated by a dedicated member of our museum team 

80 minutes of full museum playtime, including our art studio   

Chaperones (up to 12 adults) can attend at no cost

In-Person Field Trips:   Title 1 Schools OR Programs Attending to Under-Served Communities ​

NO Cost for Title 1 schools

Up to $400 travel stipend for qualifying transportation needs (while funds remain available)

Non-T itle 1 Schools

Contact us for bookings and questions at

[email protected] or call 424.416.2448 .

$10 per student

A non-refundable deposit of 50% is required at the time of   booking to secure a reservation.

Actual field trip schedules may vary depending on the arrival of groups. Los Angeles traffic is unpredictable! Please allow ample time for your drive to the museum. If you are late, we CANNOT extend your field trip time, and museum playtime may  be shortened.

Memberships, discounts and promotions do not apply to Field Trips

NO REFUNDS will be granted for groups that cancel within two weeks of the scheduled visit

NO REFUNDS will be granted for any child or adult chaperone that has prepaid, but does not attend on the day of visit

Any excess funds that cannot be refunded will be considered a museum donation

Frequently Asked Questions

Check out the FAQ page HERE

40+ Kid Friendly Museums in Los Angeles For 2023

Here is the most comprehensive list you will ever find of Kid Friendly Museums in Los Angeles.    Most of the museums on this list are either within Los Angeles or right on the outskirts.  Some of them are free.  Some of them cost a few bucks.  Some even offer virtual field trips .  Either way, typically museum admittance is about the same price as going out to see a movie.

Now when I say these are “great museums to explore with kids”, only you can measure how much interest your children will have in visiting a specific museum.  For example, taking a 5-year-old child to Kidspace Museum is much different then taking a 16-year-old to learn about World World II at the Los Angles Museum of the Holocaust.

Please make sure the museum is age appropriate for your children prior to taking them to visit.

All of the museums on this list also offer field trips for students, homeschoolers and scout groups.  Please contact each individual museum for further details.

And now onto my list of  40+ Los Angeles Museums To Explore With Kids!  I hope it becomes a classic.

What are the best kid friendly museums in Los Angeles?

Academy museum of motion pictures.

The seven-story, 300,000 square foot museum features various exhibits focusing on the history and art of movie making. The museum offers ongoing education and family programs such as Family Studio Activities, Teen Programs, and School Field Trips throughout the museum, in exhibition galleries, and in the Shirley Temple Education Studio.

Timed entry to the Academy Museum must be reserved online in advance. General admission tickets grant access to the museum’s galler​ies.

A+D Museum  

A+D Architecture and Design Museum offers ongoing and featured exhibits related to architecture and design.

Autry National Center

The Autry features innovative exhibitions, a broad range of programs and extensive collection of art and artifacts, the Autry National Center explores the distinct stories and interactions of cultures and peoples, and their impact on the complex, evolving history of the American West.

Barnsdall Art Park

A collection of buildings and art objects located within a park on Hollywood Boulevard.  Art displays throughout the park.

The Broad on Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles was founded by philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad.  The Broad is home to more than 2,000 works of art, which is among the most prominent holdings of postwar and contemporary art worldwide.

California African American Museum

Art and history exhibitions that are designed to enhance the public’s knowledge of past and present African American contributions to society.  Includes modern and contemporary art, traditional African art, historical artifacts and photographs, plus over 4000 books on topics ranging from African American History, to music, art and culture.

California Science Center

The California Science Center provides an innovative model for science learning by combining exhibits with an on-site Science Center School and Amgen Center for Science Learning as well as a teacher professional development program.  The Science Center is open to the public seven days a week, 362 days per year, with free general admission to its permanent exhibit galleries.  The facility spans more than 400,000 sq. feet and includes four major exhibit areas.

World of Life probes the commonalities of the living world, from the single-celled bacterium to the 100-trillion-celled human being; Creative World examines the ways people employ technology to meet their needs for transportation, communication and structures; and Ecosystems , features an unprecedented blend of nearly 400 species of live plants and animals, and hands-on exhibits in 11 immersive environments. Space Shuttle Endeavour  where guests are able to see Endeavour up close and discover some of the science behind this amazing space vehicle.

The California Science Center also hosts homeschool days and special exhibits throughout the year.

Cayton Children’s Museum

The Cayton Children’s Museum is a nonprofit organization that activates the power of PLAY to enrich the lives of children and their families, build stronger, more connected communities, and create a better world.

Located in Downtown Santa Monica just blocks from the Pacific Ocean, the Cayton Children’s Museum offers 21,000 square feet of discovery-based exhibits and immersive play.

They offer a robust calendar of arts and cultural activities designed for children 0 to 8 and their families, including public programs, festivals, camps, classes, workshops and more.

Chinese American Museum

7,200 square foot museum with exhibits featuring the history, rich cultural legacy and continuing contributions of Chinese Americans.

Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM)

CAFAM is dedicated to international folk art and contemporary craft.  They hosts a changing display of exhibitions, family programs, film screening and artists talks.

Discovery Cube Los Angeles

Discovery Cube Los Angeles is an indoor wonderland of learning and imagination through interactive play and real world experiences .   Ideal for children ages 2 to 12 years old.

El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument

A collection of indoor and outdoor historic buildings, artifacts, museums and exhibits.  The most famous parts of the Monument is Olvera Street.  Other areas of interest are the Old Plaza Firehouse Museum, Avila Adobe and the Sepulveda House.  Most of the exhibits are free.

Fowler Museum at UCLA

The Fowler Museum at UCLA explores global arts and cultures with an emphasis on works from Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas—past and present.  The Fowler enhances understanding and appreciation of the diverse peoples, cultures, and religions of the world through dynamic exhibitions, publications, and public programs, informed by interdisciplinary approaches and the perspectives of the cultures represented.

Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

A 40,000 square feet extension of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), featuring contemporary abstract art exhibits.  There are guided tours throughout the day.  An admission ticket for MOCA is valid at both locations (Geffen and Grand Avenue) on the same day.  There is a shuttle to transport ticket holders between the two downtown locations.

Getty Center Museum

The Getty Center Museum is an international cultural and philanthropic institution devoted to the visual arts and the humanities that includes an art museum as well as programs for education, scholarship, and conservation.

Getty Villa

Visit and learn about the ancient world of Greece and Rome.

Griffith Observatory

Southern California’s gateway to the cosmos! Visitors can look through telescopes, explore exhibits, see live shows in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium, and enjoy spectacular views of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Sign.   Admission to the building, grounds, and parking is always free!

Grammy Museum at L.A. Live

Occupying four stories, the museum contains 30,000 square-feet of music displays, interactive exhibits and video presentations.  My daughter had a great time listening to all the music at the different listening stations.

Guinness World Record Museum

The Guinness Museum features exhibits related to the famous World Book of Records.

Hammer Museum

This is home to approximately 14,000 square feet of exhibition space.  Includes the Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden, a five acre outdoor sculpture collection.  Admission is FREE.

Hollywood Bowl Museum

Features history, photos, posters, videos, and rock memorabilia from events at the Hollywood Bowl.  You can also attend free concert rehearsals during the summer.

Hollywood Heritage Museum

A museum dedicated to the early days of filmmaking in Hollywood  The Museum features archival photographs from the silent movie days of motion picture production, movie props, historic documents and photos and postcards of the streets, buildings and residences of Hollywood during its heyday.

Hollywood Museum

This museum contains four floors full of artifacts, movie props, costumes, memorabilia, dioramas, pictures, posters, old film equipment and other exhibits related to Hollywood movies and motion pictures.

Hollywood Wax Museum

The original wax museum on Hollywood Boulevard features hundreds of wax figures depicting famous people and celebrities.

The Huntington

The Huntington hosts more than 800,000 visitors each year from the United States and around the world, who come to enjoy the gardens and galleries, conduct research, and learn from the collections.

Encompassing about 120 acres, the botanical gardens feature 16 stunning themed gardens and includes some 15,000 different varieties of plants.  The beautiful gardens include the Children’s Garden, the Japanese Garden, the California Garden and the Australian Garden just to name a few.

Japanese American National Museum

The Japanese American National Museum commemorates the culture and contribution of the Japanese American community during the last century.  The museum was formed in the early 1980s with Japanese American military veterans and area businessmen looking for a way to preserve Japanese American heritage.  They host various special exhibits throughout the year.

Kidspace Museum

Kidspace Museum’s believes that “when learning becomes fun, the learner does so willingly.”  They offer an expansive outdoor play area that features hands-on arts & science exhibits.  The first Tuesday of every month is free Family Night.

Korean American Museum

The mission of the Korean American Museum is to interpret and preserve its history, culture, and achievements of the Korean American community; to examine and discuss issues currently facing the community; and to explore new and innovative ways to communicate the Korean American experience to other American communities.

Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History

The Natural History Museum protects over 35 million specimens, dating back 4.5 billion years and is an authority on the “big picture” of the planet, the natural and the cultural world.

They also track the Earth’s biodiversity, because knowing what is out there is the first step to conservation.  It is a great resource for Southern California teachers and wonderful for families.  They also host homeschool days at different points throughout the year.

Los Angeles Fire Department Museum

Preserving and sharing the rich history of the LAFD by remembering, memorializing and honoring fallen firefighters and educating the public on fire and safety tips.  Dedicated to keeping the people of Los Angeles safe, and believe life safety begins with education, especially those most at risk: children & seniors.  Fun to visit with kids!

Holocaust Museum LA

Hosts a memorial to World War II Holocaust victims that presents the history of the Holocaust as objectively as possible.  For this reason its exhibits presents as many original artifacts as possible and displays them in a way that allows them to tell the individual stories they contain.

LACMA  (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

LACMA is the largest art museum in the western United States, with a collection that includes over 120,000 objects dating from antiquity to the present, encompassing the geographic world and nearly the entire history of art.

Award-winning Arts for NexGen LACMA is the nation’s only free youth membership program. NexGen offers free general admission to anyone 17 and under as well as one accompanying adult.  The privileges include permanent collection galleries and selected special exhibitions.  To join, visit the LACMA Ticket Office or print the enrollment form and mail it in.

Madame Tussauds Hollywood

Guests at Madame Tussauds interact with lifelike celebrity figures without ropes or barriers between them.  You can walk up and see stars like Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lopez.

MOCA (Museum of Contemproary Art)

Founded in 1979, MOCA is the only museum in Los Angeles devoted exclusively to contemporary art.  It is committed to the collection, presentation, and interpretation of work produced since 1940 in all media, and to preserving that work for future generations.   They have a total 6,800 works of art.

Today the museum is housed in three unique facilities: MOCA Grand Avenue, The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, and MOCA Pacific Design Center.

Museum of Jurassic Technology

This small museum features exhibits that are related to old technology.

Museum of Tolerance

This museum focuses on two central themes through uniqe exhibits: the dynamics of racism and prejudice in America and the history of the Holocaust – the ultimate example of man’s inhumanity to man.

Noah’s Art at The Skirball Museum

Noah’s Ark is a special space within The Skirball Museum dedicated especially to children.  The space features a floor-to-ceiling wooden ark filled with a variety of animals, where children can play, build, climb, explore, make music and more.  Admission is free on Thursdays.

Page Museum at La Brea Tar Pits

Page Museum is the world’s only active, urban Ice Age excavation site.  Inside they showcase fossils , animals, and plants that have been discovered here – mammoths, saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, and more.

Outside check out the La Brea Tar Pits where tar is still bubbling, and the active fossil excavation sites to see what excavators have uncovered today.

Petersen’s Automotive Museum

Petersen’s features hot rods, celebrity automobiles, land-speed record cars, motorcycles, artwork and sculptures.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not  

Ripley’s Museum showcases odd trivia from the Ripley’s Believe It or Not book.

Travel Town Museum

Travel Town, the Los Angeles City Recreation and Park Department’s unique display of vehicles representing many modes and eras of conveyances, is visited each week by hundreds of youngsters and adults who are interested in the development of transportation.

Located on a 9-acre site at 5200 Hollingsworth Drive in Griffith Park, Travel Town is open to the public daily from 10a.m. to 5 p.m.  There is no admission charge.

Displaying everything from a 104-ton locomotive to a one-horse shay, Travel Town offers its visitors what for most of them is the only opportunity they ever have to see and examine at close hand many different types of vehicles.

USC Fisher Museum of Art

A museum on the campus of The University of Southern California that features contemporary and old master exhibitions, as well as tours, lectures, music and other events.  Admission is FREE.

Happy Field Tripping!

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The FieldTripDirectory.com is a resource of Los Angeles field trips for elementary school students thru high school students, camp groups, homeschool groups and scout troops for day field trips, overnight field trips and youth retreats. Learn about Los Angeles’ museums, zoos and aquariums, botanic gardens, nature centers, historic sites, amusement parks, recreation, performing arts and more, CLICK on the ACTIVITY FILTER below for further field trip information. For those unable to travel to these locations, check out our  Virtual Field Trips  section or  Outreach Field Trips & School Assembly Programs  section.

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Fulcrum Adventures

Fulcrum Adventures programs actively engage youth groups with hands-on opportunities to lead, solve problems, make decisions, and work as a team.

Pinstripes Topanga

Dine, Play, Celebrate! The best field trips happen at Pinstripes, an esteemed dining and entertainment destination that offers a kids-friendly Italian-American menu and a modern spin on bocce and bowling.

America's Teaching Zoo

America’s Teaching Zoo is the hand-on classroom for the Exotic Animal Training and Management students AND a community attraction in a beautiful hilltop setting.

Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park

Augustus F. Hawkins Nature Park is a 8.5-acre state-of-the-art natural park surrounded by the urban landscape of Southern California. A school or youth group trip includes a tour of the facility, an art/craft activity and a self-lead scavenger hunt.

AUTRY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST

The Autry Museum of the American West mission to bring together the stories of all peoples of the American West, connecting the past with the present to inspire our shared future.

California African American Museum

The California African American Museum’s mission is to research, collect, preserve, and interpret for public enrichment the history, art, and culture of African Americans with an emphasis on California and the western USA.

California Science Center

The California Science Center features hands-on exhibits and inquiry-based education programs. Features major exhibit areas: World of Life, Creative World, Ecosystems and Air and Space.

Cayton Children's Museum

The Cayton Children’s Museum offers 21,000 square feet of discovery-based exhibits and immersive play connecting to arts, to the world. The Museum is a place where children experience the transformational and lifelong benefits of abundant, creative and purposeful play.

Craft Contemporary

With a focus on contemporary art made from craft media and processes, Craft Contemporary presents dynamic exhibitions by established and emerging artists and designers.

Descanso Gardens

Descanso Gardens is a unique Southern California landscape distinguished by its specialized botanic collections, historical significance, and rare natural beauty. 

Discovery Cube Los Angeles

Discovery Cube’s campuses and education programs is an organization brimming with mind-growing activities, try-it-out experiments, and numerous other paths to pursuing scientific understanding. These engaging experiences have their basis in STEM education.

El Dorado Nature Center

El Dorado Nature Center is an oasis of natural habitat, offering visitors to explore the 105 acres that make up the Nature Center grounds provide sanctuary for animals and plant life. Offers tours for various nature themes.

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FAIRPLEX – STEAM Fair

STEAM Fair: Extreme STEAM, Extreme Fun—an experiential event at Fairplex designed to inspire students from K-12 to explore and pursue learning and careers in the areas of STEAM.

We know the wheels on the bus go ‘round and ‘round, but how? And what makes Pokémon go? And what about bugs – are they really the next big source of protein? Discover answers to all those questions, and lots more, at the second annual STEA 2M Fair – EXTREME STEAM. EXTREME FUN. at Fairplex.

Join legions of current and future scientists, artists and techies as they explore the depths of STEAM fact and fiction with a fun-filled day chock full of hands-on activities, workshops, demonstrations and experiments.

There’s a lot to learn:

• What’s the science behind soap? We’ll come clean with the answer.
• What does a cricket taste like? Salty, crunchy, the antennae act as natural dental floss.
• Can we travel through time? Indeed, through the stories of master storyteller Jim Cogan who captures the adventures of the past century’s greatest inventors and innovators.

STEAM knows no bounds! And neither will you when you leave, excited to further explore the discoveries and ideas behind science, technology, engineering, art, agriculture, and mathematics.

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• No late registrations or refunds will be processed after the closing date. No Exceptions
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• All Students must be accompanied by a registered adult through PayPal. No more than 2 adults per Homeschool student
• Note : If you have multiple Homeschool students, each Homeschool student must be registered for all Field Trips using their own designated flex fund account. Any duplicate orders for the same field trip on one student’s account will not be allowed.
• Field Trip Photography Disclaimer: Please be advised that photographs will be taken at this event for possible use on the SCS website, marketing materials, and/or all other SCS publications. If you do not want you or your child to be photographed please advise the Field Trip Coordinator.
• How to Cancel: Forward your registration confirmation email receipt to [email protected] with a detailed notation to cancel by the deadline date indicated on each field trip.

Questions? Contact Kathleen Crudo, the Educational Field Trip Coordinator at [email protected] or (951) 595-6360

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Splendid day trips you can take from Las Vegas — each less than a two-hour drive

Places shown: Valley of Fire State Park, Emerald Cave, Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area and Las Vegas Ballpark.

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I have a new system for beating the casinos in Las Vegas: I don’t spend a penny on the slots, the tables or the sports books. Instead, I bet heavily on red and green.

Red rocks and green waters, that is. Hiking and kayaking.

I tested the system on a series of day trips last month. Though I slept three nights in a hotel on the Strip, I headed out of town every day.

First: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Later, Valley of Fire State Park and the Colorado River’s Black Canyon, where the waters of Emerald Cave eerily glow. Then a night of minor league baseball.

None of these adventures took me more than 60 miles from the Strip (a.k.a. Las Vegas Boulevard). Yet the psychological distance seemed enormous. Maybe it’s no surprise that many climbers and other outdoorsy types have moved to Las Vegas for the access it gives them to rocks, mountains and such.

You know that semi-vacant look on so many slot machine players’ faces? You don’t see that so much on the trail or the river, even when the path is uphill or the paddling is against the wind. And it’s tough to find a poker face in the Las Vegas Ballpark when management is staging an Elvis karaoke competition between innings.

Here’s a rundown.

Red Rock Canyon

Driving distance from the Strip: About 30 minutes from the Stratosphere tower.

What makes it great : You’ll have no trouble finding the scenery at the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area .

Solitude might take a little longer, because the canyon is immensely popular and only an 18- to 22-mile drive from the Strip, depending on your route. Once there, you can hike, bike or drive a 13-mile loop through a landscape of stacked and tumbled boulders, some fiery red, some chalky white, many so strangely striated that you may suspect they’ve been scrubbed with steel wool.

Many of the formations are Jurassic sand dunes that have been hardened to sandstone by time. You can drive between or hike on 16 trails threaded through the rocks, junipers and some Joshua trees too.

For drivers and cyclists, it’s a one-way route, with a speed limit of 35 mph, on a wonderfully smooth two-lane blacktop. For hikers, the trails range from 800 feet to 14 miles, easy to difficult, and there are more just beyond the loop.

If you go: Once you start driving the loop, you’ll almost immediately want to pull over because the scenery is so arresting. Don’t. It’s illegal. And the first parking lot, Calico Hills, comes up soon, followed by about 10 more in 13 miles. Most have restrooms.

I made my visit just before sunset. Early morning would be good too — you get dramatic light and avoid the worst of the heat.

In cooler months (Oct. 1 through May 31), you’ll need to book a timed reservation to drive through between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. In summer, you don’t need a timed reservation, but you’ll still need to pay $20 per car (unless you have a national parks pass).

Black Canyon and Emerald Cave

Driving distance from the Strip: About an hour and 15 minutes.

What makes it great: What if you flooded a red rock canyon and set multitudes of Nevadans and visitors loose on assorted watercraft? Lake Mead National Recreation Area , a 38-mile drive east of Vegas, is the lively answer to that question.

Most of the action is on the lake itself, which was created in 1936 by the construction of Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) along the Colorado River. But about 15 miles downriver from the dam, you’ll find Willow Beach and the Black Canyon Water Trail , a great place to kayak.

After a 60-mile drive southeast from the Strip, I was floating with a tour group in gentle waters (no rapids here) at the foot of 1,500-foot cliffs.

“Let’s go to Arizona,” our guide said — which simply meant paddling from one side of the river to the other.

I had signed on with Blazin’ Paddles , one of several kayak tour companies that paddle out of Willow Beach Marina on the Arizona side. The marina is about 15 miles downriver from the dam. Because it’s part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area, entrance is $25 per car.

There were dozens of kayakers in groups ahead of me, in part because paddling in a shady canyon is a pretty good way to spend a 95-degree day, in part because Instagram has made Emerald Cave a star.

The cave, a 2-mile paddle from Willow Beach, is only about the size of a two-bedroom apartment. But the way its waters glow green makes for great pictures. It’s the centerpiece of most half-day tours, and guides say they’ve fit as many as 23 kayaks in there at a time.

You can explore the Colorado River in an inflatable watercraft.

Kayak tours from Willow Beach explore the Colorado River. (Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

If your excursion is like mine, you’ll run into a traffic jam outside the cave and the wait will be about 45 minutes. Sometimes it’s over an hour, guides say.

But remember, you’ll be in a kayak beneath tall cliffs, keeping an eye out for desert bighorn sheep, possibly engaging in splash skirmishes with fellow paddlers. Life could be worse. And once you’re in the cave, the sight is memorable. If you’ve ever taken a rowboat into the Blue Grotto on the Italian isle of Capri, this cave’s interior will give you déja vù in another hue.

For the record, we wedged 17 kayaks and a canoe into the cave. And on the way back to the marina, we spotted a bald eagle.

Four miles of kayaking, with a cave in the middle and a stop to hop out for a view, is just about perfect for a three-hour excursion. I paid $110. (With shuttle bus service from the Strip, it’s $149.)

If you go : The best time for Emerald Cave photos is said to be midday, when I was there. But if you get there early or late, you’ll have less company.

There’s a store at Willow Beach Marina that sells snacks, sunblock, hats, water shoes, dry bags and boating and fishing supplies; open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in summer. There’s also a restaurant, Black Canyon Grill, open daily for lunch in summer; open Fridays to Sundays for most of March, April, May, September and October; and closed November to February.

You can also take a quick, free look at Hoover Dam (22 miles from Willow Beach) by parking in a free lot on the Arizona side of the river (parking is $10 on the Nevada side) and walking across the dam. Entry to the Visitor Center exhibits and observation deck is $10. There are also guided dam tours available, first come, first served. Boulder City , 6.5 miles from the dam, has several restaurants and antique shops.

Valley of Fire State Park

Driving distance from the Strip: About 55 minutes.

What makes it great: Even after I saw Red Rock Canyon, I didn’t fully understand how easily outback Nevada can pass for outback Utah. The Valley of Fire — about 55 miles northeast of the Strip — educated me further.

It also lured me into a few furnace-hot gullies and showed me miles of red sandstone, gray limestone, slot canyons and crazy-shaped boulders, all scattered on a desert floor that long ago was an ocean floor. Some boulders are decorated with petroglyphs older than all of our leading presidential candidates put together.

More specifically, because I read some signs, I can tell you that the petroglyphs are more than 2,000 years old, and also that a petroglyph is cut into stone; a pictograph is painted on stone.

Petroglyphs at Valley of Fire State Park.

(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)

Valley of Fire, Nevada’s first state park, has one through road, two campgrounds and several rock-climbing spots. But keep this place’s name in mind. It gets so hot (up to 120 degrees) that from May 15 to Sept. 30 this year, rangers have closed all trails longer than 1 mile.

Sticking within that limit, I wandered among the Beehives rock formations near the park’s western entrance and climbed the stairs to Atlatl Rock (where an ancient inscribed hand seems to be giving the finger to all who pass). I also walked the 0.7-mile Mouse’s Tank Trail and 1-mile Rainbow Vista trail, but it was close to 100 degrees, and the sandy path may give you that swimming-in-syrup sensation.

If you go: Park entrance is $10 per vehicle ($15 for out-of-state vehicles). The rangers’ 1-mile limit means that until October, nobody can hike the Fire Wave, Seven Wonders Loop or the White Domes Loop.

Still, it’s a thrill to follow White Domes Road north from the visitor center as it twists and squeezes between boulders.

The Moapa Valley town of Overton, 9 miles north of the park’s eastern entrance, is home to the Lost City Museum , created in the 1930s to showcase Native artifacts that long predate the creation of Lake Mead. On Overton’s Main Street, the Inside Scoop cafe has ice cream and makes a topnotch $8 tuna salad sandwich.

Aviators baseball in Las Vegas Ballpark

Driving distance from the Strip: About 25 minutes.

What makes it great: Strictly speaking, the Las Vegas Ballpark isn’t a full day trip, but this may be the most family-friendly of these excursions, so it needs to be here.

The ballpark, home to the AAA Aviators baseball team, stands in the Vegas suburb of Summerlin, about 15 miles from the Strip. You could spend all day in a casino and still make 7 p.m. game time. (Or you could head for the ballpark after exploring Red Rock Canyon, which is practically next door.)

Whenever you arrive, your blood pressure is likely to ease once you step in. It’s a gorgeous ballpark, completed in 2019 with a capacity of just 10,000, so it feels intimate. You can spread a blanket on the grassy berm overlooking right field, and there’s a good chance a local 15-year-old will be singing the national anthem.

But there’s also a bright, high-resolution scoreboard, a swimming pool beyond center field (yes, that costs extra) and food options that include tri-tip sandwiches and avocado chicken burritos.

You can count on silly games between innings (including a cardboard airplane-throwing contest), brand ambassadors handing out merch and kids scrambling for foul balls. Beers start at $10, hot dogs at $6.50. (And there are cocktails, because Las Vegas.)

On the night I came, attendance was 5,042 people and 99 dogs (because it was bring-your-dog night).

Unless you’re a devotee of the El Paso Chihuahuas, Salt Lake Bees or Reno Aces, you won’t recognize any of these hopeful young players. But that will hardly matter — especially if (as I witnessed) the center fielder makes a leaping grab to save a 9-7 win for the home team.

If you go: Tickets start at $14 (for a spot on the berm in right field), but if you buy online in advance, the middleman fees will push that to about $20.

Las Vegas, a Dodgers farm team from 2001-08, is now a farm team for the Oakland Athletics. It’s a tad awkward that the Athletics have announced that they’ll be moving to Las Vegas in a few years. But for now, the Aviators are here and you can be too.

There are no slot machines in the ballpark and no sports betting area. In fact, the only casino with a prominent ad posted is nearby Red Rock Resort.

You can check the schedule to see when the Aviators are playing at home. The season runs through Sept. 22, and the AAA national championship game will be in the ballpark on Sept. 28.

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Born and raised in California, Christopher Reynolds has written about travel, the outdoors, arts and culture for the Los Angeles Times since 1990.

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