Field Trips

North Carolina state parks proudly offer dozens of memorable field trip experiences for students and teachers. Explore science, history, social studies, and math while sampling stream life or climbing a mountain. With 41 parks and recreation areas statewide, there is bound to be a great field trip near you.

 

Field Trip Requests

  1. Determine which state park you want to visit.
  2. Find a field trip program from the list below. In some instances, park staff can create a custom program for your group.
  3. Fill out the Field Trip Request Form and send directly to the state park you want to visit.

Field Trip Request Form

To see a general list of the curriculum standards that can be met by a field trip to a state park, download this PDF:

Curriculum Standards Correlations (PDF)

 

Field Trip Funding Assistance

Do you need a grant to fund transportation costs of your field trip? The North Carolina Friends of State Parks offers the Youth in Parks – Environmental Education (YIP-EE) program that aims to get students outside the classroom into our state parks. To learn more, visit their website:

NCFSP YIP-EE Program

 

Schools in Parks Collaborative

The Schools in Parks Collaborative is a statewide initiative of the NC Division of Parks and Recreation, to ensure that every public school student in the state has a meaningful learning experience in a state park by the time of graduation.

Created in partnership with the Center for Public Engagement with Science in the University of North Carolina Institute for the Environment, this yearlong professional development program fosters increased confidence and a sense of efficacy among 3rd-, 4th- and 5th-grade teachers in using outdoor science learning approaches in state parks to support their curriculum objectives.

Classroom teachers and park rangers experience hands-on, inquiry-based activities, aligned with state standards and integrated with multiple content areas during a series of workshops. They then use these experiences to craft a student field trip that connects classroom learning with engaging encounters in a state park.

For more information on the Collaborative, visit:

Schools in Parks Collaborative