Our History

You will need the whole day for this trip but it is worth it!  A trip to Ellis Island should be taken at least once in your life time.  I have visited Ellis Island several times both personally and with students.  The third grade at the elementary school I work for does a complete theme study of immigration, how and why they came to America, and the complete process they went through when arriving at Ellis Island.  This is accompanied with students researching their ancestral background, a project and presentation on their own ethnic heritage, and finished with an ethnic day festival of foods from all over the world.

 

It is exciting to see the children identifying the Great Hall and the Stairs of Separation.  The main building has three floors of rooms with many displays and  exhibits.  There is plenty to see and learn there is even a room to watch a video/documentary, "Island of Hope; Island of Tears".   Outside is the view of the New York Harbor and the Great Wall that the children can search for relatives names and make a pencil etching.  You could spend the entire day in the museum touring all the exhibits.

 

If you finish the museum early you can take a ferry to the Statue of Liberty. You can view the statue from the ferry as it slowly circles Miss Liberty, or if you want you can disembark the ferry to go inside the statue. There is an ice cream stand, snack bar and gift shop on the statue's island.  We have never had enough time to do this; we would tour the Statue of Liberty strictly from the ferry.   

 

This is truly a great and meaningful trip.  Before leaving the main land make time to visit the 911 memorial in honor of all those lost in 2001.  To see so many names on can not help being moved.

 

 

 Ellis Island

Marine Life, Geology, Science and Technology

Jenkinson’s Aquarium located in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. is one of my favorite class trips.  Each exhibit is designed to promote awareness of the animals, their habitats and conservation.  It offers  guided tours that take the class through each exhibit explaining what the children are seeing, the animal’s origin, habitat, and general information about the creatures themselves.  Children are allowed to ask the tour guide questions as they go along.  Along with the tour is a question and answer learning session about the Aquarium’s penguins. 

 In an enclosed room the children learn about the penguins and are able to view one first hand as its trainer lets a penguin walk the room.  It is very exciting!!  From outside a  glass tank the children learn the story of the Aquarium’s rescued seals and watch them do tricks during their feeding time. 

 Another favorite at Jenkinson’s is the touch tank where children not only learn about marine life but are able to touch live animals ranging from a sea star to a juvenile shark. This trip offers so many interesting things to see!  Before leaving, weather permitting, the children love to take a walk on the beach near the water for a group picture.

The Franklin Mineral Museum located in Franklin, N.J. is a museum that features over 300 species of minerals from the Franklin-Ogdensburg area.  If your class is studying rocks and minerals this is the place to go.  The museum features the world’s largest Fluorescent Display.  The glowing display really wows the kids.  There is also a wing in the museum that features collections of fossils, Native American relics, fossils of fish, dinosaur footprints, shells, bones, and skulls.  What’s really cool is visitors can explore a two story replica of a zinc mine and all of it working equipment.

  At the end of the trip children can find souvenirs in the Buckwheat Dump next door.  It contains mine tailings that can be scoured by armature geologists for mineral specimens!!!!

          

Another popular trip is the Liberty Science Center located in Jersey City, N.J.  It offers floors of hands-on exhibits, a Digital 3D Theater, and the nation’s largest IMAX Dome Theater. This is a great place to explore science and technology and how they influence our lives.  The downfall to this trip is that it is so popular that sometimes it is very crowded and children have to wait a long time to get near some of the exhibits or miss them all together.  This trip is not one of my favorites but seems to be loved by the students.  There is so many permanent exhibitions and temporary exhibits that I cannot possibly include them in this blog so feel free to see for yourself using the link I have included.

Jenkinson's Aquarium

Franklin Mineral Museum

 

Liberty Science Center

Fun and Excitement for the Young Ones!!

Hello, my name is Lisa Viscel. I am a mother of three and currently attending Caldwell College to obtain my elementary/special education degree. I have held my current position as an instructional aide in a NJ elementary school for the past 13 years. Over the past decade I have experienced some really great class trips for various age groups. I would like to share my experience of a few of my favorite trips in the hopes that it would help to aide you in deciding where to bring your class or even your own personal family. 

 Fall is a beautiful time of year and one great place to go is the Green Meadows Petting Farm located in Hazlet, N.J. This place is perfect for younger children but loved by all. Green Meadows offers with the price of admission a 2 hour guided tour where children learn interesting facts and interact with over a hundred farm animals including milking a cow. The admission price also includes a tractor-drawn hayride and in the month of October everyone goes home with a free pumpkin!!! 

 

 

Snacks and beverages are available but children can bring a bag lunch which they can eat in the Green Meadows’ picnic area. Obviously, this is a seasonal trip and there is a small window for scheduling, September 28th October 29th and May 3rd-June 3rd. If these time frames do not fit your school's schedule I have included links to the New Jersey Children’s Museum in Paramus, N.J. and the Garden State Discovery Museum located in Cherry Hill, N.J. The NJ Children's Museum offers a hands-on concept and is designed for children ages 1 to 8. This place is very educational using state of the art technology to present fascinating phenomena. The kids love exploring the world through animal senses and dressing up as kings, queens, princes, and princesses in the medieval castle section. Check out the website and you will see why this is a place to consider for a class trip. The Discovery Museum is geared towards preschool children offering play areas with changing interactive tabletops, guided simple science centers, and performances such as the amazing Pajaminals. It offers just enough stimulation and entertainment for younger children.

 Green Meadows Farm

 New Jersey Children's Museum

 Discovery Museum