Interactive Field Trips Offered to Educators for Black History Month, President’s Day, Women’s History Month and Earth Day

In preparation for several upcoming significant historical, cultural and societal events, the Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) has curated a list of live, interactive virtual field trips that educators can access to enrich discussions surrounding Black History Month, President’s Day, Women’s History Month and Earth Day. The diverse list of interactive learning experiences ranges from an immersive underground railroad experience to an exploration of women war reporters who have made indelible marks in the world of journalism. Several of the offerings are free to the public, while others have a fee associated.

Virtual expeditions have gained in popularity in recent years and even more so since the start of the COVID-19 global pandemic. What sets CILC and its content collaborators’ programs apart from traditional web-based experiences (prerecorded) is the live interactive aspect. Museum curators, historians, authors, researchers, and other expert instructors engage directly with students during the virtual field trip to create a richer learning environment. The selections below offer an engaging resource to educators who want to expand their curriculum in a unique and authentic manner.

BLACK HISTORY MONTH, FEBRUARY 2021

Whether educators wish to celebrate African-American sports or take a deep dive into the Underground Railroad, educators will find an extensive list of programming experiences to reflect on the significant roles that African-Americans have played in shaping US history. A sampling of the programming available include:

1. Underground Railroad Immersive Experience, Ohio History Connection
2. Double Victory: African Americans in WWII, National World War II Museum
3. African American Artists (free), Smithsonian American Art Museums
4. It’s NOT Black or White: How a Museum Defines ‘Race’,

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

5. African American Trailblazers (free), Pro Football Hall of Fame

PRESIDENT’S DAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2021

With interactive field trips, teachers have the ability to bring President’s Day to life by enriching the holiday with live programming for their students. A sampling of the programming available include:

1. America’s Presidents (free), Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
2. Young Abraham Lincoln, Learn Around the World
3. The Pursuit of Liberty: the Revolutionary War and the Founding of America,       VA Museum of History and Culture
4. Investigating the Lincoln Assassination with Detective McDevitt, Ford’s Theater
5. George Washington and the French and Indian War (free), Fort Necessity National Battlefield

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, MARCH 2021

Teachers looking for ways to provide fresh content when celebrating the vital role of women in American history can infuse new excitement within their students through well-known historians and experts A sampling of the programming available include:

1. Women War Reporters: How They Wrote World “Herstory”, Authors on Call
2. Votes for Women, MD Center for History & Culture
3. Women’s History: Dirt on Their Skirts, National Baseball Hall of Fame
4. Activism in the Suffrage Movement (free), VA Museum of History
5. Women Who Paved the Way: Exploring Women Homesteaders and Suffragists (free), Homestead National Monument

EARTH DAY, APRIL 22, 2021

Educators can explore outside a school’s traditional curriculum setting to experience a day that promotes environmental awareness and calls for the protection of our planet. A sampling of the programming available include:

1. Earth Day: Preserving Our Most Precious Resource, SOITA
2. Sustainable Solutions: Bioenergy and Bioproducts (free), Creative Discovery Museum
3. Exploring Earth Science, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
4. Planet Earth, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology
5. Earth is Worth It!, East Central Ohio Ed. Service Center

Teachers, school administrators, parents and childcare professionals are encouraged to browse CILC’s complete library of programs or register for a free membership at cilc.org.

About The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration

The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration (CILC) was founded in 1994 as a nonprofit organization with a mission to connect K-12 schools to national and international museums, zoos and other cultural organizations. CILC was developed for teachers to easily identify quality educational programs and interactive virtual experiences. To date CILC has nearly 200 content providers, which offer standards-driven authentic, live programs evaluated by teachers for teachers. Through interactive learning and collaboration, providers help to expand opportunities for students of all ages to learn through engagement with more than 1,900 professionally delivered programs. For more information about how cultural organizations are considered for CILC’s programming or to incorporate into a school’s curriculum, please visit https://www.cilc.org/.

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eSchool Media staff cover education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new products. First published in March of 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals.

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