Middle School Physical Science Field Trips

Field Trips for Middle School Physical Science

These websites support the NGSS standards at this grade level and are labeled by the type of website that it is (Student or Teacher Background, Student Online Activities, Teacher Activities, Student or Teacher Videos).

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Provider Name	Resource Link	Provider Location	Abstract
American River Water Education Center	Education Center Tour	Folsom	The history and headwaters of the American River Watershed are explored through interactive exhibits which focus on this integral part of California’s waterworks. Find out where the American River actually starts. Discover just how much water is needed to make a pair of jeans or grow a tomato. Water management and conservation are critical issues today and are stressed with fun ‘hands on’ demonstration areas and displays. A section on Folsom Dam explains why it was built, it’s dynamic history over the past 50+ years and the dam’s many uses.
Chabot Space and Science Center	Energy Engineering	Oakland	Things are heating up, so come on down and shoot the breeze! Where does all of our energy come from? What are some sustainable energy options that we use? How do different types of energy influence life on our planet? In this workshop students will learn about different sources of energy, including wind and solar energy. They will also design wind turbine models and test their ability to produce energy. They will leave this workshop with engineering/experimentation skills and an understanding of renewable and non renewable energy sources and their impact on our environment.
Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose	Seld Guided Field Trips	San Jose	Enjoy the hands-on exhibits including: Art Gallery, Art Loft, Bill's Backyard, Bubbles. Mammoth Discovery, Rainbow Market, Secrets of Circles, Streets, Water Ways, Wonder Cabinet, and the changing exhbiit
CuriOdyssey	Build It and Break It! - Field Trip	San Mateo	Build a wooden bridge and a paper tower, then test their strength until they collapse. Students will explore gravity, stress, and other forces that engineers have to overcome (or utilize) every time they construct a bridge or building. Let’s learn together as we build and break our very own structures. Also available as an in-class program.
East Bay Municipal Utility District	Outdoor Education	Orinda	Hands-on learning provides children experiences that help them to better understand what it takes to protect the environment, how natural systems function and how our drinking water supply relates to those systems. EBMUD rangers work with school age children to enhance habitats, stabilize soils, and restore natural conditions for creeks and disturbed areas in the East Bay. Registration is first come first serve starting in August every year
Exploratorium	Gallery 4: Living Systems	San Francisco	Investigate the living world. Sometimes life is hard to observe, because it’s too tiny or fast or is hidden underground or in the ocean. Discover what you’ve been missing: use scientific tools to investigate living things of different sizes, the ecosystems they inhabit, and the processes they share.
Exploratorium	Fisher Bay Observatory Gallery 6: Observing Landscapes	San Francisco	Explore the local environment. Natural and human forces interact to create the dynamic landscape surrounding us. Learn to uncover the stories embedded in a place by directly observing the geography, history, and ecology of the San Francisco Bay region.
Exploratorium	Gallery 2: Tinkering	San Francisco	Think with your hands. Making things and developing ideas by hand helps us construct understanding. Slow down, settle in, and make something personally meaningful—from playful contraptions to surprising connections between mechanical systems and natural phenomena.
Exploratorium	Outdoor Gallery: Open your senses to this place by the Bay.	San Francisco	Investigate forces shaping the City, Bay, and region. Watch shifting winds and tides, reveal hidden life, shake a bridge, observe human behavior, and find new ways to notice the places we inhabit.
Exploratorium	Tinkering Studio	San Francisco	A studio workshop for playful invention, investigation, and collaboration The Tinkering Studio is an immersive, active, creative place at the Exploratorium where museum visitors can slow down, become deeply engaged in an investigation of scientific phenomena, and make something—a piece of a collaborative chain reaction—that fully represents their ideas and aesthetic. In the Tinkering Studio, visitors are invited to explore a curiosity-driven exhibit, chat with a featured artist, or investigate a range of phenomena with staff artists, scientists, educators, and others by participating in a collaborative activity. A large, eclectic assortment of materials, tools, and technologies are provided for people to use as they explore and create.
Exploratorium	Bechtel Gallery 3: Seeing and Reflections	San Francisco	Experiment with light and vision, sound and hearing, and motion and spatial perception. Our eyes and ears respond to light and sound waves, but these are just the first steps in perceiving the world. Playing with light and sound is the best way to learn how they work. Investigating real phenomena can also give you a deeper understanding of the scientific process.
Folsom Powerhouse	Powerhouse Tour	Folsom	Visitors touring the powerhouse can see the massive General Electric transformers, each capable of conducting from 800 to 11,000 volts of electricity, in addition to the forebays and canal system that brought the water from the dam. There is also a downloadable unit on electricity on the website.
Great America Theme Park	Physics, Science and Math Days	Santa Clara	April 28, & May 5, 12, & 19, 2023 Great America has collaborated with lteachers and consultants to develop activities and downloadable packets that can be used as a resource guide to meet current teaching requirements. On these days the park has special activities to help demostrate the science that deals with matter, energy, motion, and force is a modern-day roller coasters.
Hiller Aviation Museum	Storm Chasers	San Carlos	Explore how weather affects flight in a challenging foul-weather flight simulation. Discover thunderstorms and other weather hazards and how they affect aircraft, and then enter the Flight Sim Zone to embark on a realistic mission into inclement conditions. It’s a thrilling adventure to the edge of aviation!
Hiller Aviation Museum	Teacher-Led Field Trip	San Carlos	Teachers are provided with field trip guides, students get "flight plans" for interesting, challenging and engaging learning activities based on the displays and exhibits in the museum. The gallery includes full size models, interactive hands-on displays and multimedia presentations. Visitors can look into the restoration workshop, to see future museum models. Science topics include air density, sound, force, pressure, and the forces of flight, including thrust, lift, gravity, and drag.
Hiller Aviation Museum	Flight Simulator Lab	San Carlos	Enter the Museum’s Flight Sim Zone, where every student has the opportunity to control a simulated airplane through several realistic, age-appropriate missions. Using state-of-the-art flight simulation equipment and software, students work in pairs to master aircraft control while flying through a beautiful reproduction of the Bay Area and other locations worldwide.
Hiller Aviation Museum	Flight Planning Lab	San Carlos	Science, math and aviation come together in a three-part experience! Students inspect a small aircraft, use aviation charts to plan a flight between airports, and fly a portion of the planned flight in the Flight Sim Zone. Careful consideration of terrain contours and calculations of fuel consumption and velocity are essential to ensure a safe mission.
Hiller Aviation Museum	Aero Design Challenge	San Carlos	Available October 2022 – April 2023 - No Charge The Hiller Aviation Museum’s annual celebration of engineering, the Aero Design Challenge provides middle school students with an immersive, hands-on experience in flight. Students are introduced to the Engineering Design Process, experience different Discovery Station rotations focused on the science of gliders, then work in small groups to design, build, test and improve an elastic-powered glider! Aero Design Challenge is available at no charge through the generosity of the JetBlue Foundation. Availability is limited to schools visiting with 30 or more students, and additional date restrictions may apply.
Hiller Aviation Museum	Amazing Aircraft II - Field Trip	San Carlos	Take flight with a rubber-powered airplane! Recommended for older students, Amazing Aircraft II features construction and flight of a larger, propeller powered balsa airplane. Grades 4-8 add control surfaces to guide their airplane’s flight. Launch into the amazing world of aircraft!
Hiller Aviation Museum	Flight and Motion	San Carlos	Investigate the forces of flight while building and flying a model glider! Primary students explore lift, thrust, drag and gravity, while elementary and above construct flight controls to change the attitude of their flying model aircraft.
Intel Museum	Museum Tours Intel Museum	Santa Clara	Students learn about Intel microprocessor history, silicon chip design, and chip fabrication. Museum staff guide students through the complex world of silicon technology to help them understand how Intel is changing the way we live, work, and play. Interactive exhibits encourage students to explore concepts in a fun and educational manner. These two-hour tours can be tailored for specific grade levels, including educational classes in the Learning Lab. Programs are available for grade 2 and higher. Classes offered: Binary (recommended for Grade 2) Conductivity (recommended for Grade 3) Circuitry (recommended for Grades 4-5) Puzzle Ball (recommended for Grades 6-12)
Marina Education Programs - City of Berkeley	Adventure Playground	Berkeley	The Adventure Playground at the Berkeley Marina was opened in 1978. It is a wonderfully unique outdoor facility where staff encourage children to play and build creatively. Come climb on the many unusual kid designed and built forts, boats, and towers. Ride the zip line or hammer, saw, and paint. By providing these low risk activities Adventure Playground creates opportunities for children to learn cooperation, meet physical challenges and gain self confidence.
Marine Science Institute	Shoreside Stations Program	Redwood City	Students love this 2-3 hour, hands-on program that takes place on our oyster shell beach, pier, and in the fully equipped Discovery Lab. The Shoreside Program offers a variety of "disocovery-based" activities that are guaranteed to excite young students and challenge older ones. A basic program includes two stations from a choice of six: fish, benthic invertebrates, plankton, hydrology, sharks, and marine mammals. Students will use real oceanographic equipment during their stations to take a "mud grab" and find the invertebrates that live at the bottom of the bay, use a large beach net or "seine" to collect fish for examination or use a Van Dorn Bottle to collect samples of water to test. All programs close with an activity that examines our human connection with this important estuary. * Available for 2, 3, or 4 stations, with increasing prices.
Math Science Nucleus	Electricity	Fremont	TStudents are electrified with static and current electricity. They learn the difference between series and parallel circuits. Students can see first hand how this vital form of energy charges the world. Fourth Grade: Physical Science (1 a,c,e,g)
Oakland Aviation Museum	Museum Tour - Oakland Aviation Museum	Oakland	Self-guided tour through the museum to see noteworthy aircrafts and engines. Exhibits include Early Oakland Aviation, African-American Aviation, Women Pilots, Air Racing, Aerial Photography and Space. A guide takes students on a "climb aboard" tour through the Flying Boat-- designed to take off and land in the water only.
Pigeon Point Light Station	Lighthouse Grounds Tour	Pescadero	Lighthouse Closed for Repairs In December 2001, a section of the iron belt course on the exterior of the lighthouse fell off. The lighthouse will remain closed until the structure can be restored. The lighthouse may still be viewed from the grounds. For more information go to Lighthouse Restoration Tours: Half hour guided history walks around the lighthouse grounds are available daily at 1pm, staff permitting, or upon request by calling 650-879-2120
Point Bonita YMCA	Introduction to the Marin Headlands	Sausalito	Explore the natural and cultural history of the Marin Headlands on an engaging hike along the trails and batteries near Point Bonita YMCA's campus. Learn about the plants, animals, minerals and people that have inhabited this national park. Depending on Park availability, a tour of the historic Point Bonita Lighthouse can be requested as part of this program.
San Francisco Maritime National Park	Submarine Science School	San Francisco	The Pampanito Science Program is a hands-on experience for upper elementary and middle school students set on a historic WWII submarine. Explore scientific concepts for submarine operation, such as buoyancy, light and sound waves, navigational techniques, and chemical battery creation. Includes a private tour of the submarine where students will be able to gain historical empathy through the stores told. For inquiries or to apply, visit maritime.org/education, or call (415) 561-6662 ext. 5.
San Francisco Maritime National Park	USS Pampanito Daytime Tours	San Francisco	Here's your opportunity to get a first-hand look at one of the once-secret naval vessels which helped to win World War II. The USS Pampanito (SS-383), a World War II fleet submarine, provides an excellent field trip experience for classes exploring the history of World War II or for other educational groups seeking an out-of-the-ordinary experience. As one of the last surviving submarines from America's World War II fleet, the USS Pampanito provides a unique opportunity to bring alive the history most students can only read about. (More about the Pampanito.) Using our on-board self-guided audio tour system, your group can walk the decks and tour the interior of an actual submarine while learning about the important role played by the "Silent Service." Your tour will describe the difficult conditions under which the crews of these vessels toiled while you learn about the basic principles of submarine operation.
San Francisco Maritime National Park	Explorers: Sail The Bay on the Historic 1891 San Francisco Bay Gaff-Rigged Scow	San Francisco	Take your class on a voyage into history! The Alma was built here in San Francisco in 1891. She was one of almost 400 workhorse “scow” schooners, plying their trade all over the Bay and Delta region. She is a living link to California’s past. Your students will join the many generations of Californians who have trod her Douglas Fir decks. The Alma, owned by the National Park Service, and her skipper are licensed and certified by the United Sates Coast Guard. The program is taught by our specially trained team of maritime educators. Explorers uses a hands-on, multidisciplinary approach to enable students in small groups to experience how the tools of exploration such as the magnetic compass, and charts, are used. After the hard work of hoisting and trimming the sails they will try to “navigate” the bay. In doing so they will discover the origins of weather and it’s effect on the earth, the physics of sails, and what it was like for the earliest explorers and immigrants to sail the challenging waters of California. Each student will take a “trick at the helm” to steer the ship, under the watchful eyes of the Captain. For inquiries or to apply, visit maritime.org/education, or call (415) 561-6662 ext. 5.
San Francisco Maritime National Park	Aquatic Park Environmental Science Program	San Francisco	Students will explore the local watershed of San Francisco Bay and the various sources of pollution in local waterways. Students will understand past and present environmental impacts through lab activities, dockside water chemistry tests, and samples collected in the bay through rowing in our longboat. Hands-on activities include building a watershed model, a water filter, and a microscope station to view their plankton sample compared to prepared slides of various species. Students will end their program by compiling their data from water chemistry tests and discussing current and potential solutions to a changing climate. For inquiries or to apply, visit maritime.org/education, or call (415) 561-6662 ext. 5 This program is written and provided in partnership with Ocean Institute. The AQP Science program meets Ocean Literacy Principals and NGSS standards for the Fifth through Sixth Grade curricula.
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center	Laboratory Tours	Palo Alto	At this time, all public and educational tours of the laboratory have been suspended. We apologize for not being able to host you --please check back here periodically for updates on the status of the program. Thank you for your interest in visiting SLAC. Presentation about facility and then a bus tour of the research facilities. Physicists at the Center study the structure of matter at two distinct scales. High-energy electron beams can probe matter to the scale of the internal make-up of protons and neutrons---the objects that themselves make up the tiny nucleus of an atom. You can think of the accelerator as a gigantic microscope; the smaller the object we want to study the higher energy the accelerator needed to probe it. Cameras are okay. Groups must have a single tour vehicle which has one open seat for the tour guide. Students must be at least 12.
The Lawrence	Ingenuity Challenges Lab	Berkeley	It’s fun to use your ingenuity to solve problems and meet challenges! By approaching things in creative ways, and by applying your own talents and skills, you can discover solutions that are uniquely you.
The Lawrence	Self-Guided Visit	Berkeley	Take your students to the Lawrence Hall of Science to enjoy the exhibits. Outdoor Nature Lab Animal Explorations Well Played Young Explorers Area Planetarium Hands-on Biotech Forces that Shape the Bay
The Tech Interactive	Engineering for Earthquakes - Lab	San Jose	Students learn about earthquakes and engineering principals, then design and construct seismically sound buildings that they put to the test on a shake table simulating seismic waves
The Tech Interactive	Innovation Labs: Social Robots	San Jose	Become a robotics engineer by working as a team to create a multi-tasking social robot!
The Tech Interactive	Innovation Labs: Sustainable Cities	San Jose	Student engineers work in teams to design and test their own approach to creating a sustainable city.
The Tech Interactive	Chemicals of Innovation - Lab	San Jose	Students explore chemical properties and bring the periodic table right into their hands as they experiment with chemical reactions to discover dramatic results and see how chemicals work in Silicon Valley inventions
The Tech Interactive	Simplicity of Electricity - Lab	San Jose	Students will learn how to make electricity work for them. This enlightening workshop will help students learn about switches and circuits as they light up the world and make some noise!
The Tech Interactive	Innovation Labs: Climb the Cascade	San Jose	In this facilitated design challenge, student engineers design and build a device that delivers a ball onto platforms of different heights. They’ll learn how varying their design changes the motion and path of a payload in this exciting exploration of dynamics.
The Tech Interactive	Physics of Rollercoasters	San Jose	Students design their own roller coasters to learn how engineers prototype and build machines. They also explore kinetic and potential energy, friction and Newton's 1st and 2nd Laws of Motion.
Tilden Nature Area-Tilden Regional Park	Tailored Naturalist Program: Habitats	Berkeley	the Tilden Naturalists can adapt their programs to meet the specific needs of your science unit. Sign up for a fieldtrip via the lottery system and give them a call once you are selected.
USS Hornet	Step into History	Alameda	The goal of each HORNET educational program is to use the unique, stimulating environment of this historic aircraft carrier to teach science and history concepts in an interesting, interactive, fun manner. Each program features a theme-based tour of the ship with hands-on activities. The "Step into History" 20th century American History day tour program is based on the 11th grade California Standards and uses the ship as a platform for teaching various aspects of 20th century U.S. and World History in our unique venue. We provide you with advance lesson plans in your classroom prior to your day on the USS Hornet. Students board the ship in the morning, are provided workbooks, split into groups and rotate through 7 learning stations staffed by a Hornet Educator. Grades 8-12.