A Day in the Field

Why a day trip

Not every class is ready for an overnight, and not every budget can stretch to one. A day trip gives students the same woods, ponds and fields our overnight schools explore, with the same instructors and the same standards-based lessons, in a single school day.

• Real habitats, not a playground. Students learn in forests, wetlands and open fields that a schoolyard or town park can’t offer.
• Our educators, our gear. Trained Outdoor Classroom instructors teach every class, with all equipment provided, from compasses to dip nets.
• Built around your curriculum. Tell us what your students are studying and we’ll build the day around it.
• Easy on families. No packing lists, no nights away from home, and a lower cost per student than an overnight.
• A first step toward an overnight. Many schools start with a day trip and come back for the full residential program.

What a day looks like

1. Arrive, meet your instructors, and split into field groups.
2. Morning class.
3. Second class or a team-building challenge.
4. Lunch.
5. Afternoon class.
6. Closing circle, then back on the bus.

We adjust the schedule to your bus times and grade level.

Classes and learning objectives

Choose your classes

Pick two or three classes from our catalog, or let us build a day around your unit. A few favorites:

• In the woods: Camouflage. Students explore how animals adapt to hide and hunt, through investigation and games.
• In the field: Wilderness Survival and Orienteering. Students build fires without matches and find their way with a compass.
• At the pond: Aquatic Ecology. Students test water quality and collect and identify the macroinvertebrates that live there.
• Hands-on science: Dissections and Water Rockets. Two of our most requested classes, where students take apart real specimens or design, launch and improve rockets.
• Teamwork: Team-building challenges. Group problem-solving that carries straight back to the classroom.

Pricing, logistics and FAQ

Plan your trip

When: Spring (March to June) and fall (September to November)
Where: Outdoor Classroom campuses across New England. Ask which one is closest to your school.
Length: A full school day
Cost: Request a quote for your group

Frequently asked questions

What should students bring? Weather-appropriate clothes and shoes that can get muddy, and a water bottle. We provide all class equipment.

What happens if it rains? We teach outside in most weather. In storms, classes move to covered spaces on site.

Do you provide transportation? Schools arrange their own buses. We’ll help plan arrival and departure times.

Is there a nurse on site? Student health and safety come first on every trip. See our Health & Safety page for how we handle medical needs and medications.

Can we turn a day trip into an overnight later? Yes. Many schools use a day trip to introduce students to Outdoor Classroom before booking a residential trip.