NM Curriculum NM Classroom Visits NM Water NM Gardens NM Artists NM Nature Centers NM Films
When students leave the classroom, they see the connections between what is happening at school and in the ‘real-world.’ Opportunities abound for outdoor field trips to explore the land of enchantment and indoor field trips to gain new perspectives.
Northern New Mexico
Pajarito Environmental Education Center, Los Alamos
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center offers field trips to its Los Alamos location. Field trips are offered by grade level to K-12 students and include a guided visit of their exhibits, a planetarium show, and a guided hike on their nearby trails or time to explore their nature play area. Field trip topics range from local wildlife to space, and trips are 2.5 hours long.
Albuquerque Area
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority
The RIO (River Is Ours) is a free field trip to the river for all 4th-grade classes with free bus transportation for Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) Students. Schools outside of APS can schedule a field trip, but transportation is not provided. Two-hour tours of the Southside Wastewater Reclamation Plant are available for students in grade 4 and up. There are even virtual tours for those who can’t make it in person, and each stop includes an activity or questions for your students.
BEMP: Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program
The Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) offers field trips to the bosque. During the trip, students will collect data for a long-term phenology (seasonal change) study that contributes to a national scientific database through Nature’s Notebook. BEMP has limited funding for transportation.
Rio Grande Nature Center State Park
Located in the bosque, the Rio Grande Nature Center offers field trips, learning activities, and events for families. The park has interpretive nature trails, a hands-on Discovery Room, library, an outdoor classroom, garden, and a Discovery pond where students can sample aquatic life under the microscope. They offer weekend bird walks and storytime hours. There are activities for the whole family to experience 270 acres of woods, meadows, and farmland flourishing with native grasses, wildflowers, willows, and cottonwoods.
Sandia Mountain Natural History Center
The Sandia Mountain Natural History Center (SMNHC) leads an Ecology Field Program field trip on-site in Cedar Crest for every 5th-grade student in Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) and Rio Rancho Public Schools (RRPS), as well as other schools that request it. Transportation is included for APS students. This program gets students out on the trail learning about the parts of an ecosystem (abiotic, producers, consumers, decomposers) and their inter-connectedness and importance. Students participate in hands-on scientific observation and activities. A wide variety of topics are covered, from plant identification to animal sign and behavior to forest fires. SMNHC educators also take this program on the road to teach students at state parks and other natural areas statewide. The field trip is aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards.
Southern New Mexico
Asombro Institute for Science Education, Las Cruces
The Asombro Institute for Science Education offers field trips to the Chihuahuan Desert Nature Park for every grade level. Click the education tab at the top of the home page to see the offerings for each grade. Field trips feature hands-on activities using tools that actual scientists use to understand the Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem and a hike to learn about native plants and wildlife and geologic features. Field trip stations are aligned to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core State Standards.