School and Group Field Trips - Boston Children's Museum

Since its founding by teachers over a century ago, Boston Children’s Museum has been a leading destination for memorable field trips and outside-the-classroom learning. In these challenging times, we are working hard to continue supporting our learning communities.

In-Museum Group Visits

The Museum welcomes self-guided visits for schools, learning pods, community groups, afterschool programs, camps and childcare centers. Please contact our Groups Coordinator at GroupVisits@BostonChildrensMuseum.org. Group field trips are limited during Massachusetts holidays and BPS vacation periods.

Experience the Japanese House & Meet Kyoto Kids (in person) (Available October-November and February-June)

Take off your shoes and step inside the Kyo-no-Machiya, an authentic old house from Kyoto, Japan! In this one-hour school program, students visit a real 140-years old house from Kyoto, Japan and learn about daily customs in a traditional Japanese home through their immersive experience. This program also invites students to learn about what a typical day is like for kids in Kyoto through the stories shared by Shiori, Minori, and Akihiro – three real kids from Takakura Elementary School in Kyoto. This program is best suited for grades 1-6 and lasts about one hour.

Suminagashi: The Art of Japanese Marbling (in person) (Available February-June)

Suminagashi is a paper marbling technique that has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries in Japan. Students learn the techniques of this special ancient Japanese art and create one-of-a-kind images on paper. Through this STEAM learning, students take a moment to appreciate the nature around us and enjoy the focus and mindfulness process of this unforgettable art-making experience. This program is best suited for grades 1-6 and lasts about one hour. Must be paired with “Experience the Japanese House & Meet Kyoto Kids”.

Writing in Japanese & Shodo Calligraphy Art (in person) (Available February-June)

In the Writing in Japanese & Shodo Calligraphy Art program, students are introduced to the basics of the Japanese writing system; Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, including the system of pictographs. After learning about Japanese calligraphy Shodo, students try the process of writing as an art expression as well as self-discovery and self-discipline, just like being in a classroom in Japan! In the end, each student creates a calligraphy art piece with brush pens from Japan to take home. This program is best suited for grades 1-6 and lasts about one hour. Must be paired with “Experience the Japanese House & Meet Kyoto Kids”.

Balls and Tracks (in Person) (School-year only)

Loop-de-loops, hills, tunnels, and more! There are many exciting parts to roller coasters and lots of things engineers have to keep in mind when designing them. Through trial and error and using their keen observation skills, students will work in teams to engineer a roller coaster track for a marble. This program is designed for 1st-5th grade and lasts 50-60 minutes. This program can accommodate approximately 1 class or 10-25 students per hour-long program. The Museum can offer up to three hours of programming per day. Please contact groupvisits@bostonchildrensmuseum.org if you have any additional questions about this.

Money Matters: Earthquake Engineering (In Person) (School-year only)

Can you design a building to withstand an earthquake? Students will engage in financial literacy and engineering as they carefully spend their budget on materials to design an earthquake resistant structure. They will test their design on a shake table. This program is designed for 2nd-5th grade and lasts 50-60 minutes. This program can accommodate approximately 1 class or 10-25 students per hour-long program. The Museum can offer up to three hours of programming per day. Please contact groupvisits@bostonchildrensmuseum.org if you have any additional questions about this.

Thanks to generous support from Citizens Bank, the Money Matters: Earthquake Engineering program can be facilitated free of charge for many schools. Within the interest form, you can indicate whether you would like your class to be considered for a sponsored visit.

Money Matters Virtual Museum Experience (School-year only)

What are the businesses in our community? How do we and our neighbors make and spend money? Students will get the chance to explore these financial literacy concepts through role play, creating their own small businesses, and making shopping choices.

This program is broken into four parts, including one virtual visit from the Museum educator.

Part 1 (teacher-facilitated): Students will be introduced to the idea of a small business through a storybook. The storybook will be provided by the Museum, but facilitated by the teacher.
Part 2 (Museum-facilitated): A Museum staff member will virtually guest star (about 45 minutes) in the class to facilitate a discussion about businesses the students are familiar with and guide students in thinking about what small business they want to create.
Part 3 (teacher-facilitated): The teacher will help students pick their businesses. Then, students will complete small business plans, make signs to promote their businesses, and make fake money to use in the following part of the program.
Part 4 (teacher-facilitated): Students will sell from and shop at the businesses they created.

Thanks to generous support from Citizens Bank, Virtual Money Matters Experiences program can be facilitated free of charge for many schools. Within the interest form, you can indicate whether you would like your class to be considered for a sponsored visit.

WHAT CAN A CIRCLE BE? Making Art With Circles (In Person) (School-year only)

It’s a cat, it’s someone swimming, it’s a pizza party! What can you make using parts of a circle? Students will identify circles as well as parts of a circle (half circles, quarter circles) and combine these shapes to make artwork of their own design using colorful pre-cut paper pieces. The goals of this lesson include exposure to art making while fostering creativity, self-expression, and reinforcement of math concepts and vocabulary.

This program is designed for early first grade students or late-year kindergarteners and lasts about 45 minutes. This program can accommodate approximately 1 class or 10-25 students per 45-minute program. The Museum can offer up to three hours of programming per day. Please contact groupvisits@bostonchildrensmuseum.org if you have any additional questions about this.

Check back here soon for additional information about more virtual museum experiences.