GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — It’s that time again for elementary and middle school teachers to start planning their spring field trips. Field trips offer fun, hands-on learning that connects students with local history in ways not possible in the classroom. For many, it is an experience to remember. 

A great place to connect students with history and the environment is the Time and the Valleys Museum on State Rte. 55. The museum provides three different interactive field trips: on the importance of water to all life, on the history of how water has changed both the environment and our culture, and about the life struggles on a 1930s Catskill family farm.

Guided by trained museum educators; students handle million-year-old fossils and Indigenous artifacts; build tunnels; visit an outdoor 1930s farm with a farmhouse, barn, milk house and working waterwheel; experience an interactive exhibition on New York City’s water supply system; and more. 

“Students enjoy our field trips and have fun while learning important historical and environmental concepts,” said museum director Donna Steffens. 

Each of the two-and-a-half-hour programs provides in-depth information to stimulate student learning. Comprehensive pre-visit information packets and fun activity sheets are also included.

The programs are available year round, Monday through Friday, for students in grades one through 12, with a minimum of 15 and a maximum of 100 students per day. 

The cost is $5 per student, and there is no charge for teachers and chaperones. Title 1 Sullivan County schools have free admission, with funding through the Make a Difference Grant from the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan. 

For more information, visit www.timeandthevalleysmuseum.org. For questions or to book a field trip, call Steffens at 845/985-7700 or email info@timeandthevalleysmuseum.org.