Many students have gone the usual field trip route in Chicago, taking in the museum campus along the lake or the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue. As an educator, consider showing your class a different side of Chicago--perhaps a little off-beat, but still rich with the educational and cultural significance your students require. Think out of the box, and organize alternative field trips that your students will remember for years to come.
Marshall Field, George Pullman, Potter Palmer--people who made Chicago what it is today--are buried at historic Graceland Cemetery on Chicago's North Side. Expansive, ornate monuments befitting the city's early movers and shakers mark their final resting places. Established in 1860, the cemetery also includes the eternal homes of several of the city's early architects, artists and civic leaders. Louis Sullivan, known as the creator of the first skyscraper, designed some of the tombs himself.
Graceland Cemetery
4001 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60613
773-525-1105
gracelandcemetery.org
Art and nature converge at the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park on the campus of Governors State University, where massive contemporary art pieces poke through the prairie grasses. The 100-acre park includes walking trails that lead to each of the 26 sculptures, and the surrounding wetlands host a variety of wildlife. The park appeals most strongly to art and science students--and the lengthy walk benefits everyone.
Governors State University
1 University Parkway
University Park, IL 60484
708-534-4486
govst.edu
Find desert and tropical flowers in the dead of a Chicago winter at the Garfield Park Conservatory. Thousands more plant varieties flourish in this 4 1/2-acre conservatory on Chicago's West Side. Conceived by landscape architect Jens Jensen, who introduced "prairie-style" garden design to public spaces in Chicago starting in the early 20th century, the conservatory makes photosynthesis engaging. Flowers displayed at Grant Park and Lincoln Park, two of the city's premier parks, got their starts here.
Garfield Park Conservatory
300 N. Central Park Ave.
Chicago, IL 60624
312-746-5100
garfieldconservatory.org
Sing and dance with the crowd at the Old Town School of Folk Music, where students immerse themselves in traditional musical styles that mark our country's heritage. A visit helps students connect the musical dots, learning that old African American spirituals and Southern bluegrass, for instance, have influenced much of the music they hear today.
Old Town School of Folk Music
4544 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
773-728-6000
oldtownschool.org
