The Definitive Ranking Of School Field Trips

Not every field trip was equally awesome. Ranked from worst to OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE SEA LIONS.

20. Live art

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Is it fun? C-

Is it educational? D-

You could always tell who was going to be a theater kid based on how excited they were about a regional production of "Macbeth."

19. Art museums

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Is it fun? D

Is it educational? B+

You had to be quiet all day. Every person you learned about was dead. There was no food and nowhere to sit. Still better than class, though.

18. Visiting an office

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Is it fun? F

Is it educational? B

If you found staring into your bleak future educational, then yes, this was very educational.

17. Religious sites

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Is it fun? D

Is it educational? C

At least there was interesting stuff to look at and ample seating. Stained glass was kinda cool.

16. Historic houses

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Is it fun? D

Is it educational? C

Just as unexciting as a religious site, but the tours ended way faster and you got to eat your bagged lunch quicker.

15. Historic cities

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Is it fun? A+ or B-

Is it educational? B

This one depended entirely on one condition: Did you stay overnight? If yes, Colonial Williamsburg was amazing and potentially life changing. If not, it was still pretty cool, but you wanted to hang out longer.

14. Monuments (or other historically relevant places)

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Is it fun? A-

Is it educational? C-

There's nothing you could learn about the Statue of Liberty or the Alamo that you couldn't learn in class. But you got to see it up close, which was awesome.

13. The Armory

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Is it fun? B+

Is it educational? B+

You got to look at badass armor: Historically sweet. But you didn't get to wear or touch any of the cool stuff: Eternally disappointing.

12. A place where they make food

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Is it fun? A

Is it educational? C-

You got to eat stuff and learn about how pretzels are made. But you never got enough samples. Why never enough samples?

11. Fire department/Police station

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Is it fun? A

Is it educational? C

You stood on a fire truck. YES. And there was always that one kid in class who'd been there before because he had a record. This was his one day to shine.

10. Civil War battle sites

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Is it fun? B

Is it educational? A

You were walking through a historic place and learning about the amazing people who fought for our country. But you were also kinda just looking at a field.

9. Sporting events

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? F

There was no educational component to that minor league baseball game you went to, but it was the most fun day of 8th grade.

8. Jail

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Is it fun? B+

Is it educational? C-

You learned that it's fun to take the joke photo of you behind bars, and less fun to actually be behind bars. This field trip was more informative than educational.

7. Movies

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? D

As long as it wasn't a documentary, you had fun and didn't really learn anything. Win-win.

6. Trip to a rural location

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Is it fun? B

Is it educational? B

You got to go to Amish Country or another out-of-the-way place and learn how to be a tourist. The best part was that it took forever to get there, so you were out of school for a full day — and maybe overnight!

5. Interactive science museum/Planetarium

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? B

You kind of learned something, but you were too busy playing with all the science toys to really absorb anything. This was a good thing.

4. Trip to a big city

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? B+

If you were doing a good job, you learned some street smarts. Plus, you were in a big, cool city. Learning may have been optional.

3. Amusement park/Water park

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? F

You got to ride roller coasters because your teacher said you needed to learn about physics. You did not learn about physics.

2. The zoo

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? A+

You learned something about nature, which became hugely important later in life. And you were at an awesome place. An amazing field trip, forever and always.

1. The aquarium

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Is it fun? A+

Is it educational? A+

Some may argue that the aquarium is actually just a zoo, but with lots of water. True — but it's a zoo where you get to press your face up against the glass as sharks swim by. It's the Cadillac of zoos, and the best field trip any kid could hope for.