There were only two things that got me through elementary school: snow days and field trips. Snow days were obviously the crème de la crème, but I would take a field trip over regular school any day.
Twitter user @yslorent recently asked people to share their "region-specific" elementary school field trips.
what’s everybody’s region-specific elementary school field trip mine is the salmon ladder
The replies reminded me of how hilariously random (and cool) some of these outings were. Here are the best responses:
1.
@yslorent One room schoolhouse that's since collapsed. Our teacher dressed as a school marm, and made us take turns wearing the dunce's cap. When she opened the wood stove, a bat flew out.
2.
@yslorent celestial seasonings tea factory they have a room for storing peppermint and it’s so intense that some people have fainted. they sell shirts that say “i survived the peppermint room”
3.
@EliotETC @yslorent We got to visit a Manatee named snoot multiple times in the early 90s. He ended up dying a few years ago at age 69 because of gross negligence from the aquarium staff.
4.
@yslorent Salmon hatchery. Literally saw a man squeeze the semen out of a fish when I was 10.
5.
@yslorent In 2nd grade we went on a field trip to Outback Steakhouse to learn about Australian culture lol
6.
@yslorent we went to the local sewage treatment plant lmao
7.
@yslorent mine was the odessa (tx) meteor crater. stunning isn’t it?
8.
@yslorent Shoutout to the Frito Lay factory that gave us all fresh hot bags of doritos
9.
@yslorent Dinosaur Land in White Park, Virginia. 50+ lifesize statues of dinosaurs at a roadside attraction from the 60s. Pic from dinosaurland (dot) com. Weird as it's magically delightful
10.
@yslorent in fifth grade, kids in my country go to wade through hipdeep mud at a local wildlife refuge. It was called Mudwalk and everyone was losing their mind with excitement about it from third grade onwards. Tbf, it 100% ruled.
11.
@yslorent Natural Bridge!!
12.
@yslorent Howe Caverns in upstate NY...massive caves with stalagmites and stalactites...and then they turn off the lights that plunge 40 8 year olds into pitch black dark while letting us know not to mind the fluttering wings of the bats. It was awesome.
13.
@yslorent jelly belly factory. massive W
14.
@yslorent Dissecting owl pellets for fur and bone of their prey at the Buena Vista Audubon Society in Oceanside California. Needless to say I remember it vividly.
15.
@yslorent Chimney Rock for us western Nebraskans, unmistakable landmark for travelers on the Oregon Trail. Field trips included a stop at an old grave on the Mormon Trail. The marker was the iron rim of a wagon wheel engraved with her name, Rebecca Winters.
16.
@yslorent We had one where we ran our own businesses, and we receive “paychecks” at the end of each hour
17.
@yslorent Every child in Maine has taken a field trip to the beach to study a tide pool, I’m sure of it
18.
@yslorent The Crayola Crayon Factory.
19.
@yslorent Upstate NY (real upstate)—. Corning glass museum— with glass blowing and a pocket full of crumpled allowance to buy a tiny glass figurine at the end
Let's make field trips for adults a thing in 2020! Oh wait, that's just vacation, isn't it?
