Field Trips
The Frederick A.O. Schwarz Education Center facilitates programs for thousands of children and adults each year to teach them about our city: the challenges we’ve encountered, the innovations we’ve created, the unique contemporary issues we face as New Yorkers, and the complexity of how the decisions we make today impact our city’s future.
Each field trip is a unique experience, driven by student inquiry, dialogue, and hands-on activities.
We offer both in-person and virtual field trips.
We are currently offering field trips from October 2023 to June 2024. Please fill out the Field Trip Request Form to request a trip.
Times: Programs are available Tuesday—Friday beginning at 10am.
Cost: The pricing of in-person and virtual field trips is different. Please see the relevant section below for group pricing.
Programs: Field trips vary in duration between 60 and 90 minutes. Details are listed below. Programs can be modified for groups of all needs and abilities, and program time can be adjusted under special request.
Scheduling: Advance reservations are required and must be made by using the field trip request form. Please note that due to the volume of requests, it may take up to three weeks to receive a response from our School Programs Scheduling Team. Field trips are booked on a first-come, first-served basis. More details are listed below.
In Person Field Trips
Manny Vega: Art in El Barrio / Arte en El Barrio
90 min program for Grades K-12. Students will learn about Vega’s childhood growing up in NYC and his artistic process. Students will discuss how cultural traditions may help shape meaning in their own lives and conclude the program by making their own paper mosaics to take home, drawing from selections of the artist’s work.
I Feel You, NYC: Capturing the City's Emotions
90 min program for Grades K-12. In this field trip, students will explore how paintings, sculpture, and music can be used as tools to express emotions like joy and loneliness as they hone their emotional vocabulary and reflect on their own experience of the city.
“And Scene” 100 Years of New York through Film
In this field trip, students will engage in an immersive 21-minute film depicting New York City life across time, boroughs, and cultures featured on 16 screens.
Between the Pages: 100 Years of New York Life
90 min program for Grades K-12. On this field trip, students will experience the ultimate story time as they listen to excerpts from stories set in New York City and hear an interview with William Low, author of Chinatown, as he shares about his upbringing and relationship to his father’s Bronx laundromat.
I Dream of NYC: 100 Years of New York Life through Art
In this field trip, students will explore how painters, fashion designers, and photographers have used their imaginations to create art inspired by NYC’s public destinations and private refuges.
The Making of New York
Students will discover and interpret original artifacts including a Lenape ceremonial club, archaeological findings from New Amsterdam, and original models of the Statue of Liberty that tell New York stories about the people who shaped the city over the centuries.
Activist New York
60 min program for Grades 3–12. Inspired by original artifacts and visuals, students will debate and discuss topics ranging from immigration to Civil Rights, trans activism, and the current Movement for Black Lives, and will participate in the tradition of activism by creating a button championing the change they would like to make.
The Greatest Grid
Participants will learn about the origins and evolution of Manhattan’s street grid system and how it changed over time.
What Makes New York New York? Black History Edition
Students will investigate objects that tell rich stories of the creativity and resiliency of Black New Yorkers as they have met the challenges of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Activist New York: Black History Edition
In this field trip, students will engage in an immersive 21-minute film depicting New York City life across time, boroughs, and cultures featured on 16 screens.
What Makes New York New York?
Through investigating objects that tell rich stories, students will discover the creativity and resiliency of New Yorkers as they met the challenges of the 20th century.In Person Field Trip Pricing
| School Type | Price Per Group |
| Public and charter schools (up to 35 students per group) | $175 |
| Private and parochial schools (up to 35 students per group) | $250 |
| "I'm a Neighbor": Public & charter schools in zip codes 10029, 10035, & 10037 | Free |
Note: We reserve the right to limit reservations to two groups per school per day. Teachers and chaperones are included for free in the group fee pricing.
Virtual Field Trips
Activist New York
60 min program for Grades 4–8
75 min program for Grades 9–12
Explore New York’s rich history of social justice movements to see how activists have reimagined a more just future. Students will use photographs, flyers, posters, and film footage from the exhibition to discuss topics, such as youth action in the Civil Rights Movement, health activism and the Young Lords, and the current Movement for Black Lives. The program will provide space for students to voice their thoughts and participate in a reflective activity about what care for one’s self and community looks like.
City as Canvas
45 min program for Grades K–1
60 min program for Grades 2–12
Explore highlights from the Museum’s graffiti art collection and see original works created by legendary writers such as Daze, Lee Quiñones, Lady Pink, and Keith Haring. Participants will view sketches from the artists’ personal blackbooks, photographs of large-scale pieces on subway cars, and works on canvas as sources for studying graffiti as a dynamic art movement. Students will respond creatively by drafting their own sketches. Participants are encouraged to bring a pencil and paper to the session!
Getting Around
45 min program for Grades K–1
60 min program for Grades 2–5
From horse-drawn omnibuses to electric cars, transportation in New York City has undergone many changes from the 1800s to the present day. Students will discuss how New York evolved over time by seeing pictures from the Museum’s collection. Participants will play a matching game and notice how new technologies affected the ways New Yorkers lived and traveled.
Puppets of New York
45 min program for Grades K–1
60 min program for Grades 2–5
Explore the many ways that New Yorkers have brought puppets to life on television and in movies, in plays, and on the streets in New York City! Students will see puppets of all shapes and sizes from the Puppets of New York exhibition and examine how puppets are developed, manipulated, and used as tools for building connections and standing up for causes as they draw inspiration from the rich and diverse traditions of puppetry in New York City.
Civil Rights
60 min program for Grades 4–8
75 min program for Grades 9–12
Explore New York City’s role in the Civil Rights Movement and discover the importance of youth action in the 1964 boycott by NYC students against segregated schools. Participants will hear the stories of Civil Rights activists to learn about New York’s major role in the Black freedom movement and the ongoing movement for racial justice today.
Virtual Field Trip Pricing
| Program | Cost |
| 1 program for up to 35 students | $120 |
| 1 program for 36–70 students | $240 |
| 2 separate programs, each for up to 35 students | $240 |
| 1 program for 71–150 students | $360 |
| 3 separate programs, each for up to 35 students | $360 |
Scheduling a Tour:
We are currently offering field trips from October 2023 to June 2024. Please fill out the Field Trip Request Form to request a trip.
To schedule a field trip, please complete the Field Trip Request Form. Please have your contact information, preferred program, dates, times, and group size ready before filling out the form.
Please note that due to the volume of requests, it may take up to three weeks to receive a response from our School Programs Scheduling Team. Field trips are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
For in-person field trips, please bring at least one chaperone per 10 students; a maximum of six chaperones may accompany each class. On the day of your visit, please arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before the scheduled visit for in-person field trips. Field trips will be shortened for late arrivals.
Do you have a special booking request, such as bringing multiple groups, larger groups, or a group with special needs? Please indicate your request on the Field Trip Request Form and a member of our scheduling team will be in touch to discuss options.
Please contact us at schoolprograms@mcny.org with other inquiries and questions.
