12 Awesome Field Trip Destinations in NYC for Kids

The incredible number of cultural institutions in NYC makes for some awesome field trip destinations for local schools. While raising kids in NYC isn’t always easy, one huge perk is the wide-ranging choice of kid-friendly museums, incredible zoos, and other cultural institutions that are just a subway ride away. With kid-friendly, educational programming, many of these local spots make excellent field trip destinations in NYC for classes, troops, home-schoolers, camps, and other groups.

While the zoos and larger museums are obvious field trip destinations in NYC, we’ve rounded up some lesser-known gems below. These NYC field trip destinations are a bit more off-the-beaten-path. From historic houses to on-the-water classrooms and urban farms, we’ve got you covered for your next NYC field trip. Read on for the 12 of the coolest field trip destinations in NYC, and happy exploring!

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Field Trip Destinations in NYC for Kids

1. Cricket’s Candy Creations – Tribeca

This sweet spot offers a multi-sensory experience where makers of all ages can craft edible candy art through a variety of candy-themed activities designed to be creative, fun, and delicious. For school and group tours, choose from programs that include chocolate pizza, edible slime, lickable fingerprint, candy sushi, and more. Crafts may also be customized to suit a specific theme. Field trips range in length and format depending on age range, number of students, and budget. Email info@cricketscandy.com for more information. 

2. Spyscape – Hell’s Kitchen

This popular spy museum might not leap to mind when you’re thinking of educational experiences, but Spyscape field trips are designed to challenge kids to explore how history, design, psychology, and STEM subjects shape our lives using themes from privacy and cybercrime to social skills and STEM. Fees are $29 per child. Adult chaperones are FREE, and each visitor receives a complimentary return voucher. There is special pricing for Title 1 schools. Reserve online.

Classes enjoy hands-on art projects and gallery tours during a MAD field trip. Photo by Jody Mercier

3. Museum of Arts and Design – Columbus Circle

MAD is an artist-centered institution that features wide-ranging rotating exhibitions—like the current ode to Barbie—focusing on the artistic process and materials. MADLab field trips take place on-site in the museum’s galleries and classrooms. During the 90-minute program, artist educators guide students on an inquiry-driven tour of current exhibitions, followed by an artmaking workshop in the museum classroom. Tours are available Tuesday through Sunday. Reservations must be made online at least two weeks ahead of your visit.

4. The Drawing Center – Soho

A neighborhood gem, the Drawing Center offers programs for K-12 students consisting of a guided tour of current exhibitions followed by an art-making workshop. Students are encouraged to engage in group discussions before creating their own drawings inspired by the exhibiting artists’ use of materials, production methods, and concepts. Bonus: School group programs are FREE to New York City public and private schools, as well as home school, after-school, and camp programs. Tours last 1 1/2 hours and can be booked on select dates. Fill out the online form to register.

5. Old Stone House – Gowanus, Brooklyn

A reconstruction of the 1699 Vechte-Cortelyou House, this historic house museum marks the place where the original Dutch farmstead stood and stands on land where the 1776 Battle of Brooklyn took place. Group programs connect Brooklyn’s past and present, where students discover the 17th and 18th centuries through real-life experiences and hands-on activities. All programs accommodate a variety of learning styles and support the New York state standards for social studies. Email education@theoldstonehouse.org or call 718-768-3195 to reserve.

6. 826 NYC – Park Slope, Brooklyn

An active, local nonprofit, this space hosts field trips that encourage creative expression, explore the elements of storytelling, and strengthen writing skills. Elementary and middle school classes collaborate on illustrated children’s books, middle schoolers can choose their own adventures with multi-ending stories, and high schoolers learn the art of memoir writing during a 90-minute narrative program. Field trips cost $250 for Title I schools and $500 for all other groups. Fill out the online interest form to reserve. Virtual options are also available at a discounted price.

7. Rocking the Boat – Hunts Point, the Bronx

This local organization’s on-water classroom exposes students to the joy of rowing and the ecological diversity of the Bronx River. Groups explore the Bronx River ecosystem, learn new skills, and practice teamwork through active engagement with the natural world, science explorations, and rowing. All activities have been designed to align with the common core and next generation science standards and include a focus on hands-on learning by doing and critical thinking. Email the public programs team at publicprograms@rockingtheboat.org to book your spot.

8. Genovesi Environmental Study Center – Bergen Beach, Brooklyn

This 7,000-square-foot learning center is home to more than 200 living organisms, four learning labs, an outdoor learning space with a pond habitat, an urban garden, and a greenhouse laboratory. Environmental educational teachers guide students from grades K-12 on ways they can coexist with nature and make responsible decisions for their communities and future generations. Contact gesc@schools.nyc.gov for more information or to reserve.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center offers 83 acres of educational outdoor space to explore on your next field trip in NYC. Photo by Janet Bloom

9. Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanic Garden – Staten Island

Snug Harbor’s historic 83-acre campus is one of the largest ongoing adaptive reuse projects in America, with 28 structures, 14 unique botanical gardens, 10 acres of wetlands, and a 2-acre urban farm. Needless to say, you won’t see it all in one visit. Choose one area to focus on during your trip from four, 90-minute outdoor group tour options. These include the New York Chinese Scholar’s Garden, the wetlands, Snug Harbor pastoral grounds and gardens, and the Snug Harbor heritage farm. Each tour may be paired with a class topic such as Chinese calligraphy, wetlands, the water cycle, and more. See the website for more details and to reserve.

10. Battery Urban Farm – Financial District

Designed as an educational farm, this site offers visitors a chance to experience sustainable farming, enjoy tasting organic fresh foods, and learn environmental stewardship. Group tours can focus on agriculture, urban ecosystems, nutrition, and history. Field trips are 75 minutes long and led by Battery Conservancy educators. Each features hands-on experiences and mini-lessons on urban agriculture and ecology. Trips are available from May through October for schools and other groups. Email education@thebattery.org to reserve.

11. Center for Architecture – Greenwich Village

The Center for Architecture offers hands-on group workshops at its Greenwich Village location for K-12 students. Programs introduce students to architecture and design through a series of workshops developed and taught by design educators. Architecture and design are used as vehicles to foster learning and discovery across core subject areas, cultivating students’ observational skills, critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. For prices and more information, contact the school programs manager at 212-358-6132.

12. Materials for the Arts – Long Island City, Queens

This truly off-the-radar spot offers programming focused on creative reuse and making art with readily available materials from the site’s ever-changing warehouse inventory. Materials for the Arts hosts field trip programs featuring a tour of the 35,000-square-foot warehouse. Afterward, teaching artists lead students and educators through an art-making project using various reusable materials. Offered weekly, field trips are two hours long and cost $175 per group with a limited amount of funding for FREE field trips. Free trips are first come, first served, and limited to four classes per school. See the website to reserve.