Fake Field Trips

I'm conflicted about this trend. I recognize that these outreach trips might likely be the only museum exposure many kids ever have. That still doesn't mean that this practice is the best solution. The only thing that can capture the wonder of walking into a cavernous exhibition hall filled with fascinating artifacts is actually doing it. In addition to sacrificing the visceral excitement of being around museum artifacts, there is a risk that a poorly-executed outreach trip could permanently turn students off from future museum visits. This is yet one more area where the encouragement of curiosity is being eroded from our society.