Education Extra
America250, the official nonpartisan entity charged by Congress with planning the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding, launched “America’s Field Trip,” — a nationwide scholastic contest with awardees receiving once-in-a-lifetime, behind-the-scenes access to iconic American historical and cultural sites. Montevallo’s American Village was chosen as one of only seven places in America as a field trip site!
America’s Field Trip invites elementary, middle, and high school students to submit artwork and essays reflecting on what America means to them. 75 first place awardees and a designated chaperone will be provided free travel, lodging, and access to exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime field trip experiences at select historical and cultural sites across the country, and second-place awardees will receive scholarship grants. Inaugural field trip experiences and partners include:
- Private tour of the crown of the Statue of Liberty
- Behind-the-scenes tour and hike at Yellowstone National Park
- Weekend with National Park Rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park
- Behind-the-scenes tours at the National Archives, National Museum of American History, the Library of Congress, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, or the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC
- Special tour of the USS Constitution Museum in Boston & sunset boat cruise
- Candlelight tour at Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge
- Costumed role-playing experience at American Village in Alabama
“Alabama is excited to participate in America’s Field Trip with America250, offering students a unique educational journey to explore America’s founding,” said Alan Miller, President and CEO of American Village. “Through this initiative, America’s founding history will be on display, providing young learners with invaluable insights into moments that brought forth a new nation.” The inaugural contest, designed in partnership with Discovery Education, will serve as the pilot launch of America’s Field Trip, which will expand in 2025 and 2026 to include additional prompts on topics relating to the country’s past, present, and future and more extraordinary field trip experiences.
How to Participate in America’s Field Trip. Students must submit individually and must work with either teachers or parents to submit entries on their behalf. Submissions across all age groups would respond to the question, “What does America mean to you?” The contest has different submission requirements and is available to any student in elementary school (third to fifth grade), middle school (sixth to eighth grade), and high school (ninth to twelfth grade) who aligns with age-appropriate skills. Submissions will be open until May 17, 2024. Award recipients will be announced in June 2024, and field trips will start in mid-July. To learn more, visit www.america250.org/FieldTrip. †
Watch the video below to learn more about this scholastic contest.
