5 Budget-Friendly Field Trip Alternatives

Who doesn't love a field trip? They're fun, break up the normal routine, and bring our classroom lessons to life. Field trips are a crucial part of modern education because they offer experiences for students not found inside a traditional classroom, but field trips aren’t always an option. Before you plan your next field trip try these five budget-friendly alternatives that might work even better than a field trip.

Founded on the idea that students learn best when having fun, Mobile Ed believes alternative learning experiences like field trips and hands-on museums are an essential part of high-quality education. Field trip experiences outside the classroom go hand in hand with the lessons we teach inside of our classrooms. The benefits to field trips are numerous:

Give students access to more resources and information
Improves empathy skills
Increase curiosity
Advance academic performance
Raise graduation rates
Establish critical thinking skills

Though field trips are an incredible and necessary experience for our students, field trips aren’t always doable at certain times. They’re expensive and can be a hassle to put together. They're not accessible to all students, and they could even pose safety concerns for students. Continue reading for a few ways that you can incorporate interactive learning experiences without the cost.

Field Trip Alternatives

We’ve included a few options for educators and parents who want to create fun academic experiences for students at half the cost with the same educational value.

- - Assembly Programs. Bring the field trip right to your school with an exciting educational assembly program about science, history, social-emotional learning, and more. Multiple sessions allow the whole school to experience your program, modified to their grade level. Assemblies are both educational and interactive, making them a great option for expanding on a subject, creating stronger peer relationships, and getting students excited to learn.

- - Guest Speakers. Learn right from the source when you bring in a special guest. Firefighters, police officers, nurses, authors, and more, students can learn through storytelling when you bring in a neighborhood hero for students to engage with and ask questions.

- - Virtual Assemblies. Bring a high-quality educational experience to your classroom without the hassle of transportation, tickets, forms, and chaperones. Get the same audience participation, engaging educational content, and fun experience as an in-person assembly at a great price. Virtual assemblies can also reach remote students and families.

- - Virtual Tours. Many local and national parks and museums now have virtual tours of their facilities for free or at a low cost. Take advantage of this technology and find out how to blend it with one of your lessons.

- - Explore Your Campus. What areas of your school are students not as familiar with? Visit the school kitchen to learn about cooking and chemistry, or go outside to

Mobile Ed offers a large variety of educational experiences for students across the country and that can no doubt support your needs at your school. From science programs to historical programs to even character development programs!