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Looking to take your class somewhere exciting, educational, and free? This list runs the whole gamut, from feminist art to beautiful murals. Your students will explore fascinating crevices of Miami as you pick and choose from this bucket list based on your current lesson plans. Field trips truly solidify what your students learn in the classroom, so what are you waiting for?
Institute of Contemporary Art
Amazonknights
Grades: 6-12
Virtual Option: Yes
The paintings, ceramics, and fabric works collected in Amazonknights are all by Ellen Lesperance and are based around feminist activists and their historical campaigns. She impressively finds clothes made and worn by the women who protested during feminist movements and creates images out of them. This exhibit pairs perfectly with a lesson on feminism, especially the different waves throughout history. Beyond top-down lessons, classroom or small group discussions about feminism can be integral parts of the classroom experience.
Holocaust Memorial
Grades: 6-12
Virtual Option: No
In 1984, a group of Holocaust survivors decided to create a memorial in Miami to honor the six million Jewish people who were killed by the Nazis. There was major pushback against this memorial, claiming that its location would be a downer on the fun beach atmosphere. But the memorial prevailed! Integrate this memorial with lessons about the Holocaust. Include in your lesson that Jewish people weren’t the only people targeted- the LGBTQ community, disabled community, and more were also affected.
Miami Beach Botanical Garden
Japanese Garden- Annual Japanese Spring Festival
Grades: K-12
Virtual Option: No
When entering the Japanese Garden, you’ll be welcomed by the sound of water and a collection of bamboo. Cross over the well-known red bridge and view traditional lantern pagodas. This garden is a perfect exclamation point on lessons about Japanese culture, religions, landscape, and food. Most importantly, teach about the importance and symbolism of Japanese gardens and how they fit into the unique Japanese culture!
Freedom Tower’s Miami-Dade College Museum of Art and Design
Jorge Pardo: Mongrel
Grades: 3-6
Virtual Option: Yes
Jorge Pardo is a Cuban American artist who captures his childhood memories as a young refugee. Amazingly, his family was processed in the very building that is now the museum. The then Freedom Tower was used as a reception center for refugees from Cuba. He explores displacement and loss through his art. Lesson plans for this exhibit can range from simply exploring the idea of emigration to diving deeper into its politics and emotional aftermath, depending on the grade level.
Bayside Marketplace
Grades: K-12
Virtual Option: No
Take your students through one of Miami’s most bustling community centers! Explore the many careers available such as being a chef, working on a cruise ship, being a hotel manager, and more. This is a great opportunity to explore the evolution of marketplaces- how they began as the center of cities and slowly dissipated due to urban sprawl. It can also be a lesson in local economies, business taxes, and more.
Wynwood Walls
Grades: K-6
Virtual Option: Yes
Wynwood Walls is an outdoor museum of street art from all over the world and encourages the creation of murals throughout the neighborhood. Each year, international and national artists create art on the walls, with over 50 murals on display. For younger grades, let them paint what their own mural would look like, while for the older grades you can explore how graffiti rates go down when there are mural programs in cities. Let students answer the question on their own: what is the importance of public art?
Maurice A. Ferre Park
Plaza de la Marina Española
Grades: K-12
Virtual Option: No
With 21 acres of public land, you won’t run out of things to do here! After having some fun in the sun, visit the plaza of the Spanish Navy, also known as the Plaza de la Marina Espanola. It pays homage to the Spanish Navy that came to the Americas in 1492. Pair this with a lesson on pilgrims, different countries that colonized the Americas, and the politics behind colonization. For older grades, discuss the displacement of Native people and talk about whose land you are currently on!
No matter which field trip (or trips!) you choose to attend, your students will get a thrilling educational experience that will stay with them for years to come. And they’ll return to the classroom with fresh minds after taking a break from sitting at their desks all day!
Looking for more ‘free’ field trips? Visit Explorable places to search for field trips based on subject, grade, location, activity and price. You’ll find just what you’re looking for.